Amicus picturam aspicit.

Because amicus is in the nominative singular form, which is the case typically used for the subject of the sentence.

Here:

• amicus = nominative singular = the friend / a friend
• picturam = accusative singular = the direct object
• aspicit = he/she/it looks at

So amicus is the one doing the action.

The ending -am shows that picturam is accusative singular. The accusative case is commonly used for the direct object, the thing being acted on.

The base noun is:

• pictura = picture, painting

Its accusative singular form is:

• picturam

So in this sentence, picturam is the thing the friend is looking at.

They are in different cases:

• amicus = nominative singular
• picturam = accusative singular

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• subject in the nominative
• direct object in the accusative
• verb agreeing with the subject

So the grammar of the sentence is very regular and typical.

Because the subject is amicus, which is third person singular: the friend.

The verb aspicit means he/she/it looks at. It is the third-person singular present active indicative form of aspicere.

Compare:

• aspicio = I look at
• aspicis = you look at
• aspicit = he/she/it looks at
• aspicimus = we look at
• aspicitis = you all look at
• aspiciunt = they look at

Since amicus is he/she/it in grammatical person, aspicit is the correct form.

Not exactly. English relies heavily on word order, but Latin relies much more on endings.

In English, The friend looks at the picture has to keep that order to stay clear.

In Latin, because the endings show the roles of the words, you could also say:

• Amicus picturam aspicit
• Picturam amicus aspicit
• Aspicit amicus picturam

All of these can mean the same basic thing. The usual textbook order often places the verb at the end, but Latin authors vary word order for emphasis, style, and rhythm.

Classical Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So:

• amicus can mean a friend or the friend
• picturam can mean a picture or the picture

The exact choice depends on context. If the meaning has already been supplied to you, that is why the translation may use either a or the even though Latin itself does not include a separate word for it.

Aspicit usually means looks at, gazes at, or beholds, rather than simply sees in the most neutral sense.

It comes from aspicere, which often suggests directing one’s eyes toward something. So it is closer to:

• looks at
• regards
• beholds

than to a bare sees.

That said, in some contexts English translations may overlap.

They belong to different declensions:

• amicus, amici is a second-declension masculine noun
• pictura, picturae is a first-declension feminine noun

That helps explain their endings:

• amicus = nominative singular second-declension masculine
• picturam = accusative singular first-declension feminine

Recognizing declensions is important because the declension determines the pattern of case endings.

A common classroom pronunciation would be something like:

ah-MEE-koos peek-TOO-rahm ah-SPEE-kit

More carefully:

• amicus = ah-mee-koos
• picturam = peek-too-rahm
• aspicit = ah-spee-kit

A few useful points:

• c in classical Latin is always hard, like k
• i is usually pronounced like ee
• the stress is:
  • amīcus → stress on mī
  • pictūram → stress on tū
  • aspicit → stress on as, because the middle syllable is light

Yes. The Latin present tense often covers both ideas.

So aspicit can be translated as:

• looks at
• is looking at

English chooses between simple present and progressive more often than Latin does. Latin present tense is broader, and context tells you which English version sounds best.

Yes. Aspicere is a third-conjugation verb, but it is built from:

• ad- (a prefix, often becoming as- before sp)
• specere / related forms meaning look

That is why the forms look like:

• aspicio
• aspicis
• aspicit

Its principal parts are commonly given as:

• aspicio, aspicere, aspexi, aspectum

Those principal parts help you recognize and build other tenses later.