Finitor controversiam finium audit.

Finitor is a noun. In this sentence it is nominative singular, so it is the subject of the verb.

It means something like boundary-settler, surveyor, or judge in a boundary dispute. In other words, it is the person who listens to the case.

In Latin, the subject is usually in the nominative case. Finitor is nominative singular, and the verb audit is third person singular, so they match:

• finitor = the surveyor / the boundary judge
• audit = he hears

So finitor audit means the surveyor hears.

Because it is the direct object of audit.

The verb audire means to hear, and the thing being heard goes into the accusative case. So:

• controversia = dispute, controversy
• controversiam = the dispute as the object

So the sentence is literally:

The surveyor hears the dispute ...

Finium is the genitive plural of finis, which here means boundary or border.

The genitive is used to show a relationship like of. So:

• controversia finium = a dispute of boundaries
• more natural English: a boundary dispute or a dispute about boundaries

So finium tells us what kind of dispute it is.

Because finis, finis is an i-stem third-declension noun, and i-stem nouns often have -ium in the genitive plural.

So:

• singular: finis
• genitive plural: finium

This is a form worth memorizing, because many third-declension i-stems behave this way.

Yes, Latin could also express the idea differently, for example with de finibus in some contexts. But here the phrase controversia finium is a very natural compact expression meaning a dispute concerning boundaries.

So the genitive here is not strange; it is a normal way to connect the noun controversia with the thing disputed.

Audit is:

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

from the verb audire = to hear

So it means he hears, she hears, or the surveyor hears.

Because the subject is finitor, the full sense is:

The surveyor hears ...

Because Latin word order is much freer than English word order. A very common Latin pattern is:

subject – object – verb

So:

• Finitor = subject
• controversiam finium = object phrase
• audit = verb

Latin often puts the verb last, even though English usually would not.

Both are useful:

• word-for-word: the dispute of boundaries
• natural English: the boundary dispute or the dispute about boundaries

A learner should often notice both levels:

1. the literal Latin structure
2. the more idiomatic English translation

Yes. Finis can mean several related things, including:

• end
• limit
• boundary
• border

In this sentence, because the context is a legal dispute and the subject is finitor, the meaning is clearly boundary/border.

So finium here means of boundaries, not of endings.

Because the sentence is talking about one dispute involving multiple boundaries.

That is completely normal. English works the same way:

• one dispute
• about boundaries

So there is no mismatch in meaning. The singular and plural refer to different things.

Yes. They are closely related.

• finis = boundary, limit
• finitor = someone associated with boundaries, especially someone who settles or marks out them

So the sentence is nicely built around related vocabulary:

• finitor = the boundary official
• finium = of boundaries

That kind of word-family connection is very common in Latin.