Campus amplus prope urbem est.

Campus is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject.

A learner will often notice:

• campus = nominative singular
• est = is, a singular verb

So campus is the thing that is something or is somewhere. In other words, it is the subject.

Also, urbem cannot be the subject here, because it is in the accusative form, not the nominative.

Because it agrees with campus.

In Latin, adjectives must match the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• campus is masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective also appears as amplus, which is the masculine nominative singular form.

If the noun were feminine or plural, the adjective form would change too.

Because prope is being used as a preposition here, and it takes the accusative case.

The basic dictionary form is urbs, meaning city. But in this sentence it must change form:

• urbs = nominative singular
• urbem = accusative singular

So prope urbem means near the city.

Because Latin prepositions do not always work like English ones.

In English, learners often expect:

• movement = one kind of form
• rest/location = another kind of form

But prope simply takes the accusative when it is used as a preposition. It does not matter that the meaning is static, not motion.

So:

• prope urbem = near the city

That is just the normal construction.

This is a very good question, because Latin can sometimes be less rigid than English here.

Campus amplus can naturally be understood as the large field because the adjective stands right next to the noun and agrees with it.

However, Latin word order is flexible, and adjective position by itself does not always make the same sharp distinction that English does between:

• the large field
• the field is large

So context matters.

In a beginner sentence like this, the intended meaning is often The large field is near the city. But you may also notice that Latin can allow some ambiguity unless the wider context makes things completely clear.

Because Classical Latin has no articles.

English says:

• the city
• a city

Latin usually just says:

• urbs
• urbem

Context tells you whether English should use the, a, or sometimes no article at all.

So prope urbem could literally be something like near city, but idiomatic English requires near the city or near a city, depending on context.

Because Latin word order is much freer than English word order.

Placing the verb at the end is very common in Latin, especially in simple statements. So:

• Campus amplus prope urbem est

is perfectly normal.

English usually wants the verb earlier:

• The large field is near the city

Latin can do that too in different orders, but the ending on the words helps show their roles, so Latin does not depend as heavily on word position as English does.

Yes. Latin word order is flexible.

You could see other orders such as:

• Prope urbem campus amplus est
• Campus prope urbem amplus est
• Amplus campus prope urbem est

Not every version sounds equally natural in every context, because word order can affect emphasis and style, but the grammar still works because the endings show how the words relate.

That is one of the big differences between Latin and English: in Latin, endings carry much of the grammatical information.

Not exactly.

Latin campus originally means something like:

• field
• plain
• open level ground

English campus comes from this Latin word, but in modern English it usually means the grounds of a school or university.

So in a Latin sentence like this, campus usually does not mean a college campus unless the context clearly points that way.

In this sentence, prope is a preposition meaning near.

But it can also be used as an adverb in some contexts, with a sense like nearby or almost depending on usage.

Here, because it is followed by urbem, it is clearly functioning as a preposition:

• prope urbem = near the city

So the noun after it is part of its phrase.

A simple classroom-style pronunciation would be:

KAHM-poos AHM-ploos PRO-peh OOR-bem est

A few helpful points:

• c is always hard, like k
• u is pronounced like oo
• e is usually like e in met, but cleaner and shorter
• the stress falls on the first syllable in all these two-syllable words:
  • cám-pus
  • ám-plus
  • pró-pe
  • úr-bem

So the rhythm is quite regular: CÁM-pus ÁM-plus PRÓ-pe ÚR-bem est