Sive capsarius sive unctor fumum videt, balneatorem vocat.

Sive ... sive introduces two alternatives. A natural English equivalent is whether ... or or sometimes either ... or.

So here it sets up two possible subjects:

• sive capsarius = whether the capsarius
• sive unctor = or the unctor

The basic idea is: whichever of those two it is, the rest of the sentence happens.

They are both possible subjects of videt.

In Latin, the subject of a verb is normally in the nominative case. Since the sentence gives two alternative people who might be doing the seeing, both nouns appear in the nominative:

• capsarius
• unctor

They are not both acting together; they are alternatives.

Because the sentence is talking about one person at a time.

Even though two nouns are mentioned, sive ... sive means one or the other, not both together. So Latin uses singular verbs:

• videt = sees
• vocat = calls

The sense is: if either one sees the smoke, that person calls.

Latin often leaves subject pronouns unstated because the verb ending already tells you the person and number.

Both verbs here are 3rd person singular:

• videt = he/she/it sees
• vocat = he/she/it calls

So Latin does not need to add is or another separate pronoun for he. The subject is understood from the nouns already given.

Because they are direct objects.

• fumum videt = sees smoke
• balneatorem vocat = calls the bath attendant / bath man

In Latin, the direct object is usually put in the accusative case. That is why these forms end the way they do.

Because they belong to different declensions and are in different cases.

• capsarius is nominative singular, a 2nd-declension noun.
• balneatorem is accusative singular of balneator, a 3rd-declension noun in -or.

So the endings are different for two reasons:

1. they are different noun patterns
2. they are doing different jobs in the sentence

Compare:

• capsarius = subject form
• balneatorem = object form

Yes. The most natural understanding is that the same subject continues through both verbs.

So the sentence means:

• if the capsarius sees the smoke, he calls
• if the unctor sees the smoke, he calls

Latin does not repeat the subject because it does not need to. Once the subject is understood, it can carry over to the next verb.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the case endings show how words function.

English depends heavily on position:

• the attendant sees the smoke

Latin can move words around more freely because forms like fumum and balneatorem already show they are objects.

In this sentence, the verbs come late:

• fumum videt
• balneatorem vocat

That is very normal Latin style. A verb-final or near-final order is especially common.

Classical Latin has no definite or indefinite article like English the or a/an.

So:

• fumum can mean smoke, the smoke, or sometimes a smoke, depending on context
• balneatorem can mean the bath attendant or a bath attendant

You supply the article in English from the context and the intended meaning.

They are all nouns referring to people, specifically job titles in a bathhouse setting.

A learner may notice that they sound specialized, and they are. Grammatically, though, they work like ordinary Latin nouns:

• capsarius = a masculine noun
• unctor = a masculine noun
• balneator = a masculine noun

So even if the vocabulary is culturally specific, the grammar is completely standard: subject nouns in the nominative, object nouns in the accusative, and verbs agreeing with the subject.