Oppidum est magnum, sed non est urbs.

Because magnum has to agree with oppidum.

• oppidum is a neuter singular noun.
• Latin adjectives change their endings to match the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.
• So the adjective magnus, magna, magnum becomes magnum here.

So:

• oppidum magnum = a/the large town

Even though est comes between them, magnum still describes oppidum.

Est means is.

It is the third person singular form of the verb esse, meaning to be.

So:

• oppidum est magnum = the town is large
• non est urbs = it is not a city

Because Latin verb endings already show the person and number, Latin usually does not need a separate word for it is.

Yes, Latin sometimes can leave it out if the meaning is clear, but repeating it is very normal and often clearer for beginners.

So this sentence says:

• Oppidum est magnum, sed non est urbs.

Literally:

• The town is large, but it is not a city.

You might also see something like:

• Oppidum est magnum, sed non urbs.

But the version with the second est is simpler and more explicit.

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

So oppidum can mean:

• a town
• the town

And urbs can mean:

• a city
• the city

You decide from the context which English translation sounds best.

Because urbs is not being used as an adjective here. It is a noun.

In non est urbs, the word urbs means city. It is a second noun linked to the subject by est.

This is like English:

• The town is large, but it is not a city.

Here, city is not an adjective; it is a noun telling you what the town is not.

In Latin, after a form of to be, a noun like this is often called a predicate noun.

Both refer to settlements, but they are not exactly the same word.

• oppidum usually means town or fortified town
• urbs usually means city

In many beginner sentences, the contrast is simply:

• oppidum = town
• urbs = city

So the sentence is making a distinction: the place is big, but it still does not count as a city.

Yes. Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because the endings carry much of the grammatical information.

This sentence could be rearranged in various ways, such as:

• Magnum est oppidum, sed non est urbs.
• Oppidum magnum est, sed urbs non est.

These can mean basically the same thing, though the emphasis may change.

The given order is very straightforward and beginner-friendly:

• subject: oppidum
• verb: est
• complement: magnum

then

• sed
• non est urbs

Because non normally goes before the word or phrase it negates.

So:

• non est = is not

This is the usual way to negate a verb in Latin.

Examples:

• est = is
• non est = is not

Yes. Oppidum is the subject of the sentence.

In the second clause, Latin does not need to repeat it. The verb est already tells you that the subject is third person singular: is.

So the second clause sed non est urbs naturally means:

• but it is not a city

The subject is understood from the earlier part of the sentence.

Both are in the nominative singular here.

• oppidum is nominative because it is the subject.
• urbs is also nominative because it is used with est as a predicate noun.

This is common in Latin: with forms of esse (to be), both the subject and the predicate noun are often in the nominative.

So:

• oppidum = subject
• urbs = predicate nominative

In a commonly taught classical pronunciation, you could say it roughly like this:

op-pi-dum est mag-num, sed non est oorbs

A few helpful points:

• oppidum: the pp is pronounced clearly as a doubled consonant
• g in magnum is always a hard g
• u is pronounced like oo
• urbs begins with a vowel sound like oo, not an English er

A rough classroom pronunciation guide:

• oppidum = OP-pi-doom
• est = est
• magnum = MAG-noom
• sed = sed
• non = nohn
• urbs = oorbs