Faber carinam ex quercu facit.

Because faber is in the nominative singular, which is the case Latin normally uses for the subject.

So in this sentence:

• faber = the craftsman / carpenter / shipwright
• it is the one doing the action

A native English speaker often expects word order to show the subject, but in Latin the ending is usually more important than position.

Carinam is the direct object, so it is in the accusative singular.

The verb facit means makes, and the thing being made is carinam.

This tells you:

• carina = keel
• carinam = keel as the object of the verb

The -am ending is very common for a first-declension accusative singular noun.

Because the sentence means that the keel is made out of oak, and Latin normally expresses that idea with ex + ablative.

So:

• ex = out of, from
• quercu = ablative form of quercus

Together, ex quercu means out of oak or from oak wood.

Latin often uses a preposition plus a case ending where English might simply say of oak or from oak.

Quercu is in the ablative singular because the preposition ex takes the ablative.

That is a very common Latin pattern:

• ex + ablative
• in + ablative for location
• cum + ablative

So the form quercu is not random; it is required by the preposition ex.

Yes. Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the case endings already show each word’s function.

This sentence could be rearranged in several ways and still mean the same basic thing, for example:

• Faber carinam ex quercu facit
• Ex quercu faber carinam facit
• Carinam faber ex quercu facit

The most natural prose order in Latin often places the verb near the end, as here with facit.

Different orders can give different emphasis, but the grammar stays clear because of the endings.

Because Classical Latin does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

So faber can mean:

• a craftsman
• the craftsman

And carinam can mean:

• a keel
• the keel

You decide which is best from the context.

This is one of the first things English speakers have to get used to when learning Latin.

Facit is the verb, and it tells us several things at once:

• it is present tense
• it is active
• it is indicative
• it is third person singular

So facit means he/she/it makes or is making.

Because the subject is faber, we understand it here as the craftsman makes.

Latin verbs often contain information that English expresses with a separate subject pronoun.

In this sentence, it most naturally means oak wood as the material.

Even though quercus literally means oak tree, Latin can use the name of a tree to refer to its wood, especially in a context of construction or craftsmanship.

So ex quercu facit is best understood as makes it out of oak.

Quercus is a fourth-declension noun.

That matters because its forms are different from the more familiar first- and second-declension patterns. For example:

• nominative singular: quercus
• accusative singular: quercum
• ablative singular: quercu

So quercu may look unusual at first, but it is exactly what you would expect from a fourth-declension noun after ex.

Yes, depending on context.

The basic meaning of facere is to make or to do, but in a sentence about a craftsman and a ship’s keel, English might naturally translate it as:

• makes
• builds
• constructs

So the Latin verb is broad, and the surrounding words help you choose the most natural English wording.