Magistra discipulum salutat.

the student

Breakdown of Magistra discipulum salutat.

• salutare: to greet
• magistra: the teacher

Questions & Answers about Magistra discipulum salutat.

Why is magistra in this form?

Magistra is the nominative singular form of a first-declension noun meaning “teacher.” It indicates that she is the subject of the sentence. Since Latin often shows who is doing the action through these noun endings, magistra tells us the “teacher” is doing the action.

Why is discipulum used instead of discipulus?

Discipulum is the accusative singular form of discipulus. Because it’s the direct object of the verb (the one being greeted), the accusative ending (-um) is used. If it were the subject, you would see discipulus (the nominative form).

What is the role of salutat in the sentence?

Salutat is a third-person singular present tense verb, meaning “(he/she) greets.” The ending -at shows it’s the third-person singular (he/she/it), so it agrees with magistra as the subject.

Why does the sentence appear in Subject–Object–Verb order?

Latin word order is more flexible than English, but Subject–Object–Verb is a common pattern. The key information is in the noun endings rather than their position. So even if you see variations like Discipulum magistra salutat, the meaning remains the same, because the words’ endings still show who is subject and who is object.

How can I tell that “the teacher greets the student” is the meaning without any articles?

Latin does not use articles like “a” or “the.” Instead, it relies on noun endings. Once you recognize that magistra is nominative (doer) and discipulum is accusative (receiver), you know “teacher” is greeting “student.” The meaning “the” or “a” must be inferred from context or translated into English as needed.