Factor fiscinam sub orbe oleario ponit.

The subject is factor because it is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the doer of the action.

Also, ponit is third-person singular, so it means he/she/it places. That matches a singular subject like factor.

So factor is the one doing the placing.

Because fiscinam is in the accusative singular, which is the case used for the direct object: the thing being acted on.

Here, the basket is the thing being placed, so it appears in the accusative.

• fiscina = nominative singular
• fiscinam = accusative singular

So Latin is showing by the ending that this is the object, not the subject.

Both words are ablative singular:

• orbe = ablative singular of orbis
• oleario = ablative singular of olearius, agreeing with orbe

This phrase goes with the preposition sub.

So sub orbe oleario means under the ... wheel/disc connected with oil or olives, depending on the context already given.

A learner often meets the rule:

• sub + ablative = under in a fixed position
• sub + accusative = to under / underneath with motion toward

That rule is useful, but real Latin usage can be a bit more flexible. Here the ablative phrase sub orbe presents the place where the basket is being set: under the wheel.

So even though ponit is a verb of placing, the Latin is focusing on the resulting location.

Because of agreement.

oleario is:

• ablative
• singular
• masculine

That matches orbe, which is also ablative singular masculine.

It does not match fiscinam, which is:

• accusative
• singular
• feminine

So oleario must modify orbe, not fiscinam.

Not usually in the modern English sense.

Latin factor comes from the idea of doing or making. Depending on context, it can mean something like:

• maker
• doer
• worker
• craftsman
• agent

English factor comes from the same root, but in normal modern English it usually means something different, like a mathematical factor or a contributing cause.

So this is a good example of a word that looks familiar but does not always mean the same thing.

Ponit comes from pono, ponere, posui, positum, meaning put or place.

Here it is:

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

So it means he/she/it places, or in English sometimes is placing.

Yes.

The Latin present tense often covers both:

• simple present: places
• progressive present: is placing

English usually forces you to choose one or the other, but Latin often leaves that to context.

So both can be reasonable, depending on how the scene is being described.

Latin word order is much more flexible because the endings show what each word is doing.

In English, word order is crucial:

• The worker places the basket...

In Latin, the endings already tell you:

• factor = subject
• fiscinam = object
• orbe oleario = prepositional phrase
• ponit = verb

So Latin can arrange the words more freely. Putting the verb at the end, as in ... ponit, is very common.

Because classical Latin has no articles.

Latin does not have separate words for:

• the
• a
• an

So whether you translate a noun with the or a depends on the context.

That is why a single Latin noun like factor can mean either the worker or a worker, depending on what is happening in the passage.

Because gender and case ending are different things.

Orbis is a masculine third-declension noun. In the ablative singular, many third-declension nouns end in -e.

So:

• orbis = nominative singular
• orbe = ablative singular

The ending -e does not make it feminine or neuter. It is simply the normal ablative singular ending for many third-declension nouns.