Faber aes tenet.

Because faber is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject in Latin. It is the word for craftsman, artisan, or smith.

The verb also helps: tenet is third person singular, so it matches a singular subject such as faber.

Not all masculine second-declension nouns end in -us. Some end in -er instead. Faber is one of those.

Its dictionary form is faber, fabri, which shows that it belongs to the second declension even though the nominative is not -us.

Other common nouns of this type include puer and magister.

Because aes is a neuter third-declension noun. In Latin, neuter nominative and accusative forms are always the same.

So for aes, aeris, the nominative singular is aes and the accusative singular is also aes.

That means aes can be the direct object here even though it does not have an -m ending.

Here it is accusative singular, because it is the direct object of tenet.

The full dictionary entry is aes, aeris n. The n. means neuter, and that is why the nominative and accusative singular look identical.

Aes can mean several related things depending on context, such as:

• bronze
• copper
• metal
• sometimes money or coinage

In a simple sentence like this, it most naturally suggests something like bronze or copper. Latin often uses one word where English would choose among several translations based on context.

Tenet is from teneo, tenere, meaning hold, keep, or possess.

Its ending -et tells you that it is:

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

So tenet means he/she/it holds, is holding, or sometimes keeps.

Because Latin usually does not need a separate subject pronoun when the verb ending already makes the person and number clear.

Tenet already means he/she/it holds, so adding a pronoun would usually only be for emphasis or contrast.

That is why Latin sentences often seem to leave out words that English requires.

Latin has no articles. It has no separate words exactly equivalent to English the, a, or an.

So faber can mean:

• the craftsman
• a craftsman
• just craftsman

And context tells you which English translation is best.

Yes, that is very normal. Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings do much of the grammatical work.

A verb often comes at or near the end of the sentence, so Faber aes tenet is a very natural Latin order.

Latin could rearrange the words for emphasis, but this order is straightforward and common for learners.

They are:

• faber, fabri — craftsman / artisan / smith
• aes, aeris — bronze / copper / metal
• teneo, tenere, tenui, tentum — hold / keep

Knowing dictionary forms is important in Latin because they tell you the declension or conjugation pattern that the word follows.