Trulla prope capulatorem est.

Because trulla is in the nominative singular, which is the case typically used for the subject in Latin.

A learner will often notice that trulla ends in -a, which is a very common nominative singular ending for a first-declension noun. So in this sentence, trulla is the thing being talked about, and est agrees with it.

Because prope is a preposition that takes the accusative when it means near or close to.

So:

• prope = near
• capulatorem = accusative singular form

This is something English speakers often have to get used to: in Latin, prepositions regularly require a particular case after them. Here, prope is followed by the accusative, so you get capulatorem, not a nominative form.

The dictionary form would be capulator.

More fully, a dictionary might list it as:

• capulator, capulatoris (masculine)

That tells you it is a third-declension noun. In the third declension, the accusative singular is often -em, so:

• capulator → nominative singular
• capulatorem → accusative singular

That is why the ending looks different from the ending on trulla.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

In English, we strongly expect:

• subject + verb + other elements

But in Latin, the verb often comes at or near the end of the sentence, especially in simple statements. So Trulla prope capulatorem est is a very normal Latin arrangement.

A native English speaker may want to put est earlier, but final-position est is perfectly natural in Latin.

Yes, often they could.

Because the endings show the grammatical roles, Latin does not rely on word order as heavily as English does. For example, the following would still be understandable:

• Prope capulatorem trulla est.
• Trulla est prope capulatorem.

The most natural emphasis may change a little, but the basic meaning stays the same because:

• trulla is still nominative
• capulatorem is still accusative after prope

So the endings matter more than the order.

Because Latin has no articles.

English uses the and a/an, but Latin normally does not. So trulla can mean:

• a ladle
• the ladle

and capulatorem can mean:

• a/an capulator
• the capulator

Which one is best depends on the context. This is a very common adjustment for English speakers learning Latin.

No. Prope can also be used as an adverb.

For example:

• as a preposition: prope capulatorem = near the capulator
• as an adverb: prope est = it is nearby or it is near

In your sentence, it is clearly a preposition because it has an object after it: capulatorem.

Because its subject, trulla, is singular.

The verb est means is and is the third-person singular form of esse (to be). Since there is only one trulla, Latin uses singular est, not plural sunt.

So the agreement is:

• trulla = singular subject
• est = singular verb

A useful way is to break it into three parts:

• trulla = subject
• prope capulatorem = prepositional phrase
• est = verb

So even though the word order is different from normal English, the grammar is still straightforward:

• subject
  • location phrase
    • to be

This kind of sentence is common in early Latin: a noun, a phrase showing place or position, and a form of esse.

Mostly the endings.

For an English speaker, the instinct is often to read by word order first. In Latin, that can be misleading. In this sentence, the endings tell you the key facts:

• trulla is nominative, so it is the subject
• capulatorem is accusative, so it goes with prope
• est is singular, matching the singular subject

So the safest habit is: look at the endings first, then the word order.