Volucris supra silvam volat.

Because volucris is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject in Latin.

In Volucris supra silvam volat, the thing doing the flying is volucris, so it appears in the nominative.

A native English speaker may not notice this at first, because English mostly relies on word order for the subject, but Latin often shows the subject through case ending instead.

Here volucris means bird or flying creature.

It can sometimes be an adjective meaning winged or swift-winged, but in this sentence it is being used as a noun.

So here it is simply the thing that flies: a bird or the bird.

The ending -t shows that the verb is third person singular in the present tense.

So volat means:

• he flies
• she flies
• it flies

In this sentence, since the subject is volucris, the verb is singular too: the bird flies.

This comes from the verb volare, meaning to fly.

Because silvam is accusative singular, and the preposition supra normally takes the accusative.

The basic noun is silva, meaning forest or woodland.

Its forms include:

• silva = nominative singular
• silvam = accusative singular

Since it comes after supra, Latin uses silvam.

Because supra is a preposition that regularly governs the accusative case.

English speakers often expect case to depend only on whether there is motion or rest, but in Latin many prepositions simply have a case they normally require. Supra usually means above, over, or on top of, and it commonly takes the accusative.

So:

• supra silvam = above the forest / over the forest

It can mean either one, depending on context.

Latin has no definite or indefinite article, so there is no separate word for the or a/an.

That means:

• volucris can be a bird or the bird
• silvam can be a forest or the forest

You choose the most natural translation from the context.

Not as important as in English.

Latin word order is often more flexible because the endings show the grammatical role of each word. So Volucris supra silvam volat and Supra silvam volucris volat could mean essentially the same thing.

That said, word order can still affect emphasis or style. This sentence uses a very straightforward and natural order:

• subject: Volucris
• prepositional phrase: supra silvam
• verb: volat

Yes.

In English, above and over can be slightly different, but Latin supra can cover both ideas depending on context. It suggests a position higher than the forest, and often naturally translates as over in a sentence about flying.

So good translations include:

• A bird flies above the forest
• A bird flies over the forest

A common classroom pronunciation would be roughly:

WOH-loo-krees SOO-prah SEEL-wam WOH-lat

A few helpful points:

• v is usually pronounced like w in restored classical pronunciation
• c is always hard, like k
• i is pronounced like ee
• a is pronounced like ah

So:

• volucris ≈ woh-loo-krees
• supra ≈ soo-prah
• silvam ≈ seel-wam
• volat ≈ woh-lat

It can mean bird, but it is somewhat more literary or elevated than the very common Latin word avis.

So a learner might more often first meet:

• avis = bird

But volucris is perfectly valid and can emphasize the idea of a winged or flying creature.

Because volat by itself already means flies or is flying, depending on context.

Latin does not usually make the same strict distinction that English does between:

• flies
• is flying

The present tense in Latin can often cover both a simple present and a progressive present.

So volat can mean:

• flies
• is flying

Yes. Volucris can be treated as masculine or feminine depending on the specific creature or the way the author uses it.

In this sentence, that does not change the translation much, because English bird does not usually mark gender.

What matters most here is that it is singular nominative, agreeing with the singular verb volat.