Tonsor capillos forfice tondet.

• tonsor = the subject, the person doing the action
• capillos = the direct object, what is being cut
• forfice = the instrument or means, the tool used
• tondet = the verb, cuts / shears / trims

So the sentence is structured as:

barber + hair + with scissors + cuts

• tonsor is nominative singular, so it is the subject.
• capillos is accusative plural, so it is the direct object.
• forfice is ablative singular, so it shows the means or instrument.

Dictionary forms:

• tonsor, tonsoris = barber
• capillus, capilli = hair, a hair
• forfex, forficis = scissors, shears

A learner often notices that the endings are doing a lot of work in Latin. That is why Latin can use a freer word order than English.

Latin often uses the plural capilli / capillos when talking about the hair on someone’s head. So capillos tondere is a normal way to say to cut someone’s hair.

Literally, capillos is hairs, but natural English usually turns that into hair. This is one of those places where Latin and English organize the idea a little differently.

This is an ablative of means or ablative of instrument. It tells you the tool used to do the action.

So:

• forfice tondet = he cuts with scissors / with shears

Latin often uses the ablative by itself for a tool or means, without adding a separate word for with.

Because when Latin expresses the means or instrument of an action, it often uses the ablative alone.

So:

• forfice = with scissors
• gladio pugnat = he fights with a sword
• stilō scribit = he writes with a pen/stylus

You do often see cum meaning with, but not usually with a simple tool like this. Cum is more common with accompaniment, as in cum amico = with a friend.

Because Latin and English treat this tool differently.

In English, scissors is a plural-looking word, even when we mean one tool. In Latin, forfex is a singular noun. So forfice is the singular ablative form meaning with a pair of scissors / with shears.

This is not unusual across languages: the same object may be grammatically singular in one language and plural in another.

tondet is:

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

It comes from tondeō, tondēre, meaning to shear, clip, trim, shave.

So tondet means he/she/it cuts, trims, shears. Here, because the subject is tonsor, it means the barber cuts.

Because they are related.

• tondet comes from the verb tondeō = I shear / cut / trim
• tonsor is a noun built from the same root and means a shearer / clipper / barber

So the sentence has a built-in connection between the person and the action:

• tonsor = the one who cuts hair
• tondet = cuts hair

English has something a little similar in pairs like teach and teacher.

Latin often puts the verb near the end of the sentence, especially in straightforward prose. So Tonsor capillos forfice tondet is a very natural Latin order.

But Latin word order is more flexible than English because the case endings show each word’s role. You could rearrange the words and still keep the same basic meaning, for example:

• Capillos tonsor forfice tondet
• Forfice tonsor capillos tondet

The emphasis may shift a little, but the endings still tell you who is doing what.

You would usually look them up under these dictionary forms:

• tonsor, tonsoris = barber
• capillus, capilli = hair
• forfex, forficis = scissors, shears
• tondeō, tondēre, totondī, tonsum = shear, clip, trim, shave

This is important because the exact form in the sentence may not be the form listed in the dictionary:

• capillos is not the dictionary form; it comes from capillus
• forfice comes from forfex
• tondet comes from tondeō