Priore anno familia Romae habitabat.

Because priore anno is in the ablative singular.

• anno is the ablative singular of annus (year).
• priore is the ablative singular of prior (earlier, previous) and agrees with anno.

Here the ablative is used for time when, so priore anno means in the previous year or the year before.

Latin often does not need a preposition for expressions of time.

So instead of saying something like in the previous year, Latin can simply use the ablative of time when:

• priore anno = in the previous year / the year before

This is very common in Latin:

• ea nocte = on that night
• tertia hora = at the third hour

Prior is a comparative adjective meaning earlier or previous.

In this sentence, priore anno means:

• in the previous year
• the year before
• sometimes, depending on context, simply last year

So prior does not mean better here; it is about earlier in time.

In Latin, familia is a singular noun, and here it is the subject of the sentence.

So the verb is also singular:

• familia = the family
• habitabat = was living / lived (singular)

Latin treats familia grammatically as one unit, just as English often does in American English: the family was living in Rome.

Familia is nominative singular, which is the normal case for the subject.

You can tell because:

• familia is the nominative form of the noun
• the verb habitabat is third person singular, matching a singular subject

So:

• familia = the thing doing the action
• habitabat = was living / lived

Because Romae is the locative form of Roma.

For names of cities, towns, and small islands, Latin often uses the locative case to mean in or at that place.

So:

• Roma = Rome (basic dictionary form)
• Romae = in Rome / at Rome

This is why Latin does not need in here.

Compare:

• Romae = in Rome
• Athenis = in Athens

The locative is a special case used mostly with names of places to show location.

In English we usually use a preposition:

• in Rome
• at home

Latin can instead use a special form:

• Romae = in Rome
• domi = at home
• ruri = in the countryside

It survives only with a limited group of words, so it is not something you use with every noun.

Habitabat is imperfect tense, active voice, indicative mood, third person singular.

It comes from habitare, meaning to live, dwell, reside.

So habitabat can mean:

• was living
• used to live
• sometimes simply lived, if the context is clear

The imperfect usually gives a sense of an ongoing, repeated, or background action in the past.

The imperfect suggests an action that was ongoing or describes the background situation in the past.

So familia Romae habitabat gives the sense:

• the family was living in Rome
• the family used to live in Rome

If Latin used the perfect (habitavit), it would more naturally present the action as a completed whole:

• the family lived in Rome
• the family has lived in Rome (depending on context)

In this sentence, the imperfect fits the idea of a continuing situation during that earlier year.

Yes, Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammar.

This order is natural and clear:

• Priore anno sets the time first
• familia gives the subject
• Romae gives the place
• habitabat comes last, which is very common in Latin

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Familia priore anno Romae habitabat
• Romae familia priore anno habitabat

These may shift emphasis slightly, but the basic meaning stays the same.

Not always exactly, but often close enough.

Priore anno most literally means:

• in the previous year
• the year before

Depending on the context, that may be best translated as:

• last year

But if the sentence is part of a larger story, priore anno may mean the previous year relative to some past point, not necessarily last year from now.

So the context matters.

Because Latin has no articles.

English uses:

• the family
• a family

Latin usually just uses the noun itself:

• familia

So whether you translate it as the family or a family depends on the context. In a simple sentence like this, the family is often the most natural translation.

No, not in this sentence.

Here anno is ablative, and with priore it means in the previous year—that is, it tells you when.

If Latin wanted to say for a year (duration of time), it would usually use the accusative:

• unum annum = for one year

So:

• anno = in a year / during a year / in that year depending on context
• annum = for a year

That is an important difference to notice.