Praetor multitudinem ante templum videt.

Latin usually shows this with case endings, not mainly with word order.

• praetor is in the nominative singular, which is the normal case for the subject.
• multitudinem is in the accusative singular, which is the normal case for the direct object.

So the sentence means that the praetor sees the crowd, not the crowd sees the praetor.

The verb videt also helps: it is third person singular, so it matches a singular subject like praetor.

Because it is the accusative singular form of multitudo.

Its basic forms are:

• multitudo = nominative singular, crowd / multitude
• multitudinem = accusative singular, used as the direct object

Since the crowd is what the praetor sees, Latin puts multitudo into the accusative: multitudinem.

This is a common pattern for many third-declension nouns:

• nominative in one form
• accusative singular often in -em

Because ante is a preposition that takes the accusative case.

So:

• ante templum = in front of the temple / before the temple

Even though templum is not the direct object of the verb, it still appears in the accusative because the preposition ante requires it.

This is very common in Latin: prepositions often determine the case of the noun that follows them.

It can mean either, depending on context.

• spatial: in front of the temple
• temporal: before the temple would be less likely in English, unless the context were unusual

In this sentence, the natural meaning is spatial: the crowd is in front of the temple.

So ante templum is best understood as describing where the crowd is.

Latin does not have definite or indefinite articles like English the and a/an.

So:

• praetor can mean the praetor or a praetor
• multitudinem can mean the crowd or a crowd
• templum can mean the temple or a temple

English has to choose one, but Latin often leaves that to the context.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

A very common neutral Latin pattern is:

• subject + object + verb

So:

• Praetor multitudinem ante templum videt.

This puts the verb at the end, which is very natural in Latin prose.

English depends heavily on word order to show meaning, but Latin depends more on endings. That means Latin can move words around for emphasis without changing the basic meaning.

Videt is:

• third person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

It comes from the verb vidēre, meaning to see.

So videt means:

• he sees
• she sees
• it sees

Here, because the subject is praetor, it means the praetor sees.

Often, yes.

Because the endings show the grammatical roles, Latin can change word order without completely changing the meaning. For example, these would still basically mean the same thing:

• Praetor multitudinem ante templum videt.
• Multitudinem praetor ante templum videt.
• Ante templum praetor multitudinem videt.

However, changing the order can change the emphasis.

For example:

• putting multitudinem earlier may emphasize the crowd
• putting ante templum earlier may emphasize the location
• putting videt at the end is still a very standard Latin arrangement

Most naturally, it describes the crowd: the praetor sees the crowd in front of the temple.

In theory, Latin word order can sometimes leave this slightly open, but the normal reading here is:

• Praetor = subject
• videt = sees
• multitudinem ante templum = the crowd located in front of the temple

If Latin wanted to make a different relationship clearer, context or a different phrasing would usually help.

A praetor is a Roman magistrate, an important public official.

In many beginner sentences, it is often enough to understand praetor as something like:

• praetor
• magistrate
• official

Sometimes textbooks leave it untranslated as praetor because it refers to a specific Roman office, not a perfect English equivalent.

A classroom pronunciation might be:

• PRAY-tor mul-ti-TOO-di-nem AN-te TEM-plum WEE-det
  if using a more traditional English-style classroom approach

A more classical reconstruction would be closer to:

• PRAE-tor mul-ti-TOO-di-nem AN-te TEM-plum WEE-det

A few helpful points:

• ae in praetor is traditionally pronounced like eye in many English-speaking classrooms, though in reconstructed Classical Latin it is more like ai
• v in videt is pronounced like English w in reconstructed Classical Latin
• stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable if it is heavy; otherwise on the third-to-last. So:
  • multitúdinem
  • videt
  • témplum