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Discipulus laetus epistulam accipit.

Discipulus laetus epistulam accipit.
The happy student receives a letter.

Breakdown of Discipulus laetus epistulam accipit.

discipulus
the student
epistula
the letter
accipere
to receive
laetus
glad
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Questions & Answers about Discipulus laetus epistulam accipit.

How do I know which word is the subject in Discipulus laetus epistulam accipit?

The subject is identified mainly by case, not by position. Discipulus is nominative singular (the form used for the subject), so it’s the doer of the action. Epistulam is accusative singular, so it’s the direct object (the thing received).

What does the ending -am in epistulam tell me?

-am is a common accusative singular ending for 1st-declension feminine nouns (dictionary form ends in -a, like epistula). Accusative is the case typically used for a direct object, so epistulam = (a/the) letter as the thing being received.

Why is laetus in the nominative, and what is it doing in the sentence?

Laetus is an adjective in the nominative singular masculine to match discipulus (also nominative singular masculine). It describes the student. In Latin this can be read either as:

  • attributive: the happy student receives the letter, or
  • predicate/appositive-ish: the student, happy, receives the letter.
    The form stays nominative because it agrees with the subject.
How do I know that laetus agrees with discipulus?

Latin adjectives agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case:

  • discipulus = masculine, singular, nominative
  • laetus = masculine, singular, nominative
    So they match perfectly, signaling that laetus describes discipulus.
What declensions are these nouns, and why does that matter?
  • discipulus is 2nd declension masculine (typical nominative singular -us)
  • epistula (here epistulam) is 1st declension feminine (typical nominative singular -a)
    Declensions matter because they determine the case endings, which show the grammatical roles (subject/object/etc.).
What tense and person is accipit?

Accipit is present tense, 3rd person singular, active indicative: he/she/it receives. The subject discipulus is singular, so the verb is singular as well.

What is the dictionary form of accipit, and what conjugation is it?

The verb is accipiō, accipere, accēpī, acceptum (3rd conjugation -iō verb).
accipit comes from the present stem accipi- plus the 3rd person singular ending -t.

Why is there no word for the or a?

Classical Latin has no articles. Whether you translate discipulus as a student or the student, and epistulam as a letter or the letter, depends on context.

Does word order matter here? Could I rearrange the words?

Word order is flexible because endings show grammar. You could write Epistulam discipulus laetus accipit or Discipulus epistulam accipit laetus and still keep the core meaning. Changes mainly affect emphasis (what feels highlighted).

Could laetus mean happily (an adverb idea), or must it mean happy (an adjective)?

Grammatically laetus is an adjective, not an adverb. Latin often uses an adjective with the subject to express a state during the action: the student, happy, receives the letter. If you specifically wanted an adverb happily, you’d typically use laete.

Why is the verb at the end? Is that required?

It’s not required, but it’s very common. A frequent Latin default is SOV (subject–object–verb), so … epistulam accipit feels natural. But Latin can move the verb for style or emphasis.

How would I make this sentence plural?

You’d change each word to plural to keep agreement:

  • Discipulī laetī epistulās accipiunt.
    (discipulī nominative plural, laetī nominative plural masculine, epistulās accusative plural, accipiunt 3rd plural).