Familia hanc terram colit.

Because familia is in the nominative singular, the case typically used for the subject of a sentence in Latin.

In Familia hanc terram colit, the subject is the one doing the action, and familia is the thing doing the cultivating.

A learner may expect a word like familia to mean family in exactly the English sense, but grammatically here it behaves like any other Latin noun: nominative for the subject.

Because hanc terram is the direct object of colit, so both words must be in the accusative singular feminine.

• haec terra = nominative singular feminine, used for a subject
• hanc terram = accusative singular feminine, used for a direct object

Since the family is acting on the land, the land must be in the accusative:

• familia = subject
• hanc terram = object

The demonstrative hic, haec, hoc changes form depending on case, number, and gender, so hanc agrees with terram.

Because hanc is modifying terram, and Latin often places demonstratives like this before the noun.

So:

• hanc terram = this land

That said, Latin word order is more flexible than English word order. You could also see different arrangements in other contexts, though hanc terram is perfectly normal and straightforward.

Terram is accusative singular feminine.

You can tell because:

• the dictionary form is terra
• first-declension feminine nouns often have -am in the accusative singular

So:

• terra = nominative singular
• terram = accusative singular

Since colit takes a direct object, terram appears in the accusative.

Colit is:

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

That means it translates as:

• he/she/it cultivates
• or, with this subject, the family cultivates

The ending -it is a common sign of third person singular in many third-conjugation present-tense forms.

The basic dictionary form is colō.

Its principal parts are commonly given as:

• colō, colere, coluī, cultum

This verb can mean things like:

• cultivate
• till
• inhabit
• care for
• in some contexts even worship

In this sentence, with terram, the agricultural sense cultivates or farms is the natural one.

Because Classical Latin has no definite article like English the, and no indefinite article like a/an either.

So familia can mean:

• the family
• a family

And hanc terram means this land, where hanc already makes the noun specific.

Latin usually relies on:

• context
• word choice
• demonstratives like hic/haec/hoc to express ideas that English often marks with articles.

It is important for emphasis and style, but not as much for basic grammar as it is in English.

Because Latin uses case endings, you can identify the roles of the words even if the order changes:

• Familia = subject
• hanc terram = object
• colit = verb

This sentence uses a very common and clear order:

• subject + object + verb

That order is especially common in simple textbook Latin sentences.

Yes. Latin allows much more flexibility than English.

For example, the same basic meaning could appear in different orders, such as:

• Colit familia hanc terram
• Hanc terram familia colit

These can sound different in emphasis, but the endings still show who is doing what.

In the given sentence, putting colit at the end is very natural Latin style.

Because in Latin, familia is grammatically a singular noun.

Even though a family contains several people, the word itself is treated as one unit:

• familia colit = the family cultivates

This is similar to English when we say the family is or the family does, especially in American English. Latin treats familia as singular here, so the verb is singular too: colit, not a plural form.

Not always. In Latin, familia can have a broader sense than modern English family.

Depending on context, it may refer to:

• a household
• the members of a household
• even household servants or dependents

So while family is a good translation here, a learner should know the Latin word can be wider in meaning than the modern English one.

In Latin, adjectives and demonstratives agree with the nouns they modify in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• terram is feminine, singular, accusative
• hanc is also feminine, singular, accusative

So they match, which shows that hanc modifies terram.

This agreement is one of the most important patterns in Latin grammar.

A common classroom pronunciation would be roughly:

FAH-mee-lee-ah hank TER-rahm KOH-lit

More carefully in restored Classical pronunciation:

• familia = fa-MI-li-a
• hanc = the c is always hard, like k
• terram = TER-ram
• colit = KO-lit

A few useful notes:

• c in Latin is always hard: colit, not like English cease
• hanc sounds with a hard c/k
• terram has doubled rr, which may be pronounced more strongly

Because Latin verbs usually include the subject information in the verb ending itself.

The ending -it tells you the verb is third person singular, so Latin does not need a separate word like she, he, or it unless it wants extra emphasis or contrast.

Since the explicit subject familia is already present, there is even less need for a pronoun.

A very literal breakdown is:

• Familia = the family / household (subject, nominative singular)
• hanc terram = this land (direct object, accusative singular feminine)
• colit = cultivates / tills (3rd person singular present active)

So grammatically: [Subject] [Object] [Verb]

That is a good basic model for understanding many simple Latin sentences.