Factor ex oleto olivas portat.

Because factor is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject of a sentence. The verb portat is also singular, so it matches factor.

In other words, Latin tells you who is doing the action mainly by the ending, not by word order.

Not all masculine nouns in Latin end in -us. That is just one common pattern.

Factor is a third-declension masculine noun. Its dictionary form is:

• factor, factoris

Third-declension nouns can have many different nominative endings, including -or, so factor is perfectly normal.

Because olivas is the accusative plural of oliva, olivae.

The accusative case is used for the direct object—the thing being carried. Since more than one olive is meant, the plural is used.

So:

• oliva = olive
• olivam = one olive as direct object
• olivas = olives as direct object

Oleto is ablative singular.

It appears in the phrase ex oleto, and the preposition ex takes the ablative case. So the ending -o here shows ablative singular of a second-declension neuter noun.

The noun is:

• oletum, oleti = olive grove

So:

• oletum = nominative/accusative singular
• oleto = ablative singular

Ex means out of or from, and it is commonly used with places.

So ex oleto means out of the olive grove or simply from the olive grove.

A learner may also notice e in other sentences. E and ex are basically the same preposition; ex is especially common before a vowel or h, as here in ex oleto.

Portat is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

It comes from:

• porto, portare = to carry

So portat means he/she/it carries, is carrying, or sometimes does carry, depending on context.

In this sentence, it agrees with the singular subject factor.

Because Latin has no articles.

So Latin often leaves English speakers to supply a, an, or the from context. That means:

• factor can mean a worker or the worker
• olivas can mean olives or the olives

You choose the most natural English wording from the context.

Much less than in English.

Latin relies heavily on case endings, so the roles of the words are still clear even if the order changes:

• factor = subject
• olivas = direct object
• ex oleto = prepositional phrase
• portat = verb

The order here is a very normal Latin pattern, especially with the verb at or near the end. But a sentence like Olivas factor ex oleto portat would still mean essentially the same thing.

They are:

• factor, factoris — third-declension masculine noun
• oletum, oleti — second-declension neuter noun
• oliva, olivae — first-declension feminine noun
• porto, portare — first-conjugation verb

Knowing the dictionary forms helps you understand why the endings look the way they do in the sentence.