Learn Hardcore Latin: In schola discipula et discipulus novam amicitiam faciunt, et amicitiam semper amant. - In the school a female student and a male student make a new friendship, and they always love the friendship.

Latin has no separate words for “the” or “a/an.” The noun by itself covers all those options, and you choose the best English article from context.

in schola = literally “in school” or “in a school.”
In natural English, this is often “in the school” (or even just “at school”).

Grammatically:

in
- ablative (here schola, ablative singular) usually means “in / on / at” a place.
  So in schola is a standard way to say “in school / at school.”

What is the difference between discipula and discipulus?

Both words mean “student / pupil,” but they differ by gender:

discipula = a female student (girl pupil)
discipulus = a male student (boy pupil)

Forms in this sentence:

discipula – nominative singular feminine, subject of the verb
discipulus – nominative singular masculine, also subject of the verb

Together, discipula et discipulus = “the girl student and the boy student” / “the female and male students.”

Why is the verb faciunt (and amant) plural instead of singular?

The subject is compound: there are two people:

discipula et discipulus = “the (female) student and the (male) student”

In Latin, if you have more than one subject, the verb normally agrees with them in number, so it becomes plural:

faciunt = “they make” (3rd person plural)
amant = “they love” (3rd person plural)

If there were only one subject, you would see:

discipula amicitiam facit – the girl student makes a friendship
discipulus amicitiam facit – the boy student makes a friendship
discipula amicitiam amat – the girl student loves the friendship

With both together, Latin uses plural faciunt and amant to match two subjects.

Why is amicitiam ending in -am instead of amicitia with -a?

Latin uses case endings to show the role of a word in the sentence.

amicitia is a first-declension noun (friendship).
- amicitia = nominative singular (“friendship” as subject)
- amicitiam = accusative singular (“friendship” as direct object)

In the sentence:

novam amicitiam faciunt – amicitiam is the direct object of faciunt: they make (a) friendship.
amicitiam semper amant – amicitiam is the direct object of amant: they always love (the) friendship.

So it must be in the accusative singular, which is amicitiam, not amicitia.

Why is there novam amicitiam (with novam) and not just amicitiam the first time?

novam is an adjective meaning “new.” Adjectives in Latin must agree with the noun they describe in:

gender (feminine/masculine/neuter)
number (singular/plural)
case (nominative/accusative/etc.)

Here:

amicitiam – feminine, singular, accusative
novam – also feminine, singular, accusative

So they match:

novam amicitiam faciunt = “they make a new friendship.”

Latin is flexible in word order, so you could also see:

amicitiam novam faciunt – same meaning, just a slightly different emphasis or style.

The important thing is the agreement in form: novam must match amicitiam.

What does amicitiam facere literally mean, and why is it used to mean “make friends”?

Literally:

amicitiam = “friendship” (accusative)
facere (here faciunt) = “to make / they make”

So amicitiam facere is literally “to make friendship.”

However, this expression is a standard Latin idiom used to mean:

“to form a friendship,” “to make friends,” “to enter into friendship.”

So novam amicitiam faciunt can be understood as:

“they make a new friendship”
or, more idiomatically in English,
“they become new friends / they make a new friend(ship).”

Why is amicitiam repeated in the second clause instead of using a pronoun like eam (“it”)?

Latin can use a pronoun:

…novam amicitiam faciunt, et eam semper amant. – …they make a new friendship, and they always love it.

But repeating the noun is also very common and often clearer:

…novam amicitiam faciunt, et amicitiam semper amant.

Reasons Latin might repeat amicitiam:

Clarity – it leaves no doubt what amant refers to.
Emphasis – repeating the key word can give it a bit more weight.
Style – Latin is often less shy than English about repeating the same noun.

So both are grammatically fine; the original simply chooses repetition.

Why is there no word for “they” in faciunt and amant?

Latin normally omits subject pronouns when the verb ending makes the subject clear.

faciunt by itself means “they make” (3rd person plural).
amant by itself means “they love.”

The -nt ending tells you the subject is “they.”
Because of that, Latin usually does not say ei or illi (they) unless it wants special emphasis or contrast.

So:

Discipula et discipulus novam amicitiam faciunt already means
“The girl student and the boy student make a new friendship.”

Adding a separate “they” would be redundant in normal Latin.

What tense are faciunt and amant, and how would I say “were making” or “will make”?

faciunt and amant are in the present tense, 3rd person plural:

faciunt – “they make / they are making”
amant – “they love / they are loving” (usually just “they love” in English)

To change the time:

Imperfect (were making / were loving):
- faciebant – they were making / they used to make
- amabant – they were loving / they used to love
Future (will make / will love):
- facient – they will make
- amabunt – they will love

So, for example:

In schola discipula et discipulus novam amicitiam faciebant –
In the school the girl student and the boy student were making a new friendship.

Can the word order be changed? For example, could I say Discipula et discipulus in schola novam amicitiam faciunt?

Yes. Latin word order is flexible, because endings show who is doing what.

All of these are grammatically correct and mean the same basic thing:

In schola discipula et discipulus novam amicitiam faciunt.
Discipula et discipulus in schola novam amicitiam faciunt.
Discipula et discipulus novam amicitiam in schola faciunt.

Typical patterns:

The verb often comes near the end of the sentence, but it doesn’t have to.
Preposition + noun (like in schola) usually stay together.
Adjectives (novam) can go before or after their nouns (amicitiam), but they must agree in ending.

Teachers often start with a more regular order (Subject – Object – Verb), but classical Latin can vary it for emphasis or style.