Magister auctionis rem emptori addicit.

Here is the breakdown:

• magister: nominative singular
• auctionis: genitive singular
• rem: accusative singular
• emptori: dative singular
• addicit: 3rd person singular present active indicative verb

So the structure is:

• magister = the subject, the one doing the action
• auctionis = of the auction
• rem = the direct object, the thing being assigned/sold
• emptori = the indirect object, to the buyer
• addicit = assigns / awards / knocks down

Latin often shows a word’s job by its ending rather than by word order.

Because it means of the auction.

The genitive case is commonly used to show possession or close association. So:

• magister auctionis = the master of the auction, or more naturally, the auctioneer / the person in charge of the auction

A native English speaker may want to translate word-for-word, but it helps to think of the genitive as answering questions like:

• of what?
• whose?

Here, auctionis answers master of what? → of the auction.

Because rem is the accusative singular form of res.

The noun res means thing. Its singular forms include:

• nominative: res
• accusative: rem

Since the thing is receiving the action of addicit, it must be in the accusative:

• rem addicit = he assigns the thing / he awards the item

So res would be the form for the subject, but rem is needed for the direct object.

Because the item is being assigned to the buyer.

The dative case is often used for the indirect object, especially when English uses to or for:

• emptori = to the buyer

So:

• rem emptori addicit = he assigns the item to the buyer

This is very common in Latin. Instead of adding a separate word for to, Latin often just changes the noun ending.

Because magister is nominative singular, which is the normal case for the subject.

Also, the verb addicit is third person singular, so it matches a singular subject:

• magister ... addicit = the auction-master ... assigns

Meanwhile:

• rem is accusative, so it cannot be the subject
• emptori is dative, so it cannot be the subject
• auctionis is genitive, so it cannot be the subject

Even if the word order changed, the endings would still tell you that magister is the one doing the action.

In this context, addicit means something like:

• assigns
• awards
• knocks down
• declares sold

It is the sort of verb used when an official transfers or awards something to someone. In an auction context, it means the auctioneer formally gives the item to the buyer.

So although the literal sense may be assigns, the natural English meaning in context is closer to the auctioneer awards the item to the buyer or declares the item sold to the buyer.

Not necessarily. Magister has a broader meaning than English teacher.

It can mean:

• master
• chief
• head
• director
• teacher, in the right context

Here, because it is followed by auctionis, it means the person in charge of the auction, not a schoolteacher. So magister auctionis is something like:

• master of the auction
• auctioneer
• auction official

This is a good reminder that Latin words often have a wider range of meanings than their most common English gloss.

Because Latin often expresses that idea through case endings instead of separate prepositions.

In English we say:

• to the buyer

In Latin, the dative ending already carries that meaning:

• emptori

So the sentence does not need a separate word for to. The ending -i tells you that emptor is the recipient.

It is important for emphasis and style, but not as much for basic grammar as in English.

In English, word order usually tells you who is doing what:

• The auctioneer awards the item to the buyer

In Latin, the endings do most of that work. So these could still mean essentially the same thing:

• Magister auctionis rem emptori addicit
• Rem magister auctionis emptori addicit
• Emptori magister auctionis rem addicit

The original order is a fairly clear and natural one:

• subject: magister auctionis
• object: rem
• indirect object: emptori
• verb: addicit

Since Latin often puts the verb near the end, this sentence looks very normal.

Addicit is:

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

That means it means he/she/it assigns or awards.

Because the subject is magister, we understand it as:

• the auction-master assigns
• the auctioneer awards

If you changed the subject, the form of the verb would also change.

The dictionary form is addico.

Latin verbs are normally listed in the first person singular present:

• addico = I assign / award / adjudge

From that, you can identify:

• addicit = he/she/it assigns

This verb is a compound of dico, but in this expression it has its own established meaning, especially in legal or formal contexts.

Yes. Res is a very broad word in Latin.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• thing
• matter
• property
• item
• object

In an auction sentence, rem most naturally means:

• the item
• the property
• the thing being sold

So even though the literal meaning is just thing, the context makes it more specific.

Because the sentence is talking about one auction.

• auctionis = of the auction (singular genitive)

If Latin wanted to say of the auctions, it would use a plural form instead.

So the phrase means the master of the auction, not the master of auctions. In English, we might still translate it naturally as the auctioneer, but grammatically the Latin is singular.

You can, but the result may sound awkward in English.

A very literal version would be:

• The master of the auction assigns the thing to the buyer.

A more natural English version might be:

• The auctioneer awards the item to the buyer.
• The auctioneer declares the item sold to the buyer.

Word-for-word translation is useful for understanding the grammar, but smoother English often requires choosing more natural vocabulary.