Quaestio difficilis est, sed responsum pueri verum est.

Because the sentence has two separate clauses:

• Quaestio difficilis est = The question is difficult
• sed responsum pueri verum est = but the boy’s answer is true

In each clause, est means is and links the subject to a description:

• quaestio → difficilis
• responsum → verum

Latin often uses esse (to be) just like English does in sentences like this.

Because difficilis is an adjective describing quaestio, and Latin adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Quaestio is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative. For difficilis, that form is difficilis.

For the same reason: adjective agreement.

Responsum is:

• neuter
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective describing it must also be neuter singular nominative. The adjective verus, vera, verum becomes verum to match responsum.

So:

• responsum verum = a true answer or the answer is true

Because responsum is neuter, not masculine.

The adjective verus has different nominative singular forms:

• verus = masculine
• vera = feminine
• verum = neuter

Since responsum is neuter, Latin uses verum.

Because pueri can mean either:

• of the boy = genitive singular
• boys = nominative plural

In this sentence, it is understood as genitive singular because it shows possession or relationship with responsum:

• responsum pueri = the boy’s answer / the answer of the boy

This is a very common thing in Latin: one form can have more than one possible meaning, and you use the sentence structure to decide which one fits.

Pueri is genitive singular here.

The genitive case is often used to show:

• possession
• relationship
• of

So:

• responsum pueri literally means the answer of the boy
• more naturally in English: the boy’s answer

Both are nominative singular because they are the subjects of their clauses.

• Quaestio difficilis est
  quaestio = subject

• responsum pueri verum est
  responsum = subject

In sentences with est, the subject is often in the nominative, and the word describing it also matches in the nominative.

Yes.

Even though difficilis is not the subject, it is a predicate adjective. Predicate adjectives describe the subject after a linking verb like est, and in Latin they still agree with the subject in gender, number, and case.

So in:

• Quaestio difficilis est

both quaestio and difficilis are nominative singular feminine.

The same thing happens in:

• responsum verum est

where both responsum and verum are nominative singular neuter.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show grammatical function.

So responsum pueri means the boy’s answer, even though English usually puts the possessive first.

Latin often places the genitive after the noun it depends on, but not always. You could move words around for emphasis, though some orders are more natural than others.

Yes. Latin does not have articles like a, an, or the.

So:

• quaestio can mean a question or the question
• responsum can mean an answer or the answer

You choose the best English wording from the context.

Sed is a conjunction meaning but.

It connects the two clauses:

• Quaestio difficilis est
• responsum pueri verum est

So it shows contrast:

• the question is difficult
• but the boy’s answer is true

Sometimes Latin can omit forms of esse (to be), especially in poetry or more compressed styles. But for a beginner, it is best to understand this sentence exactly as written, with est stated in both clauses.

In normal straightforward prose, including est is very common and clear.

The nouns belong to different declensions:

• quaestio = 3rd declension
• responsum = 2nd declension, neuter
• puer = 2nd declension, masculine

That is why their endings look different:

• quaestiō
• responsum
• puerī

Latin nouns do not all follow one single pattern, so learning declensions helps you recognize what each ending is doing.

Because in Latin, gender and ending do not always match the simple patterns you may expect.

Many feminine nouns do end in -a, but quaestio is a 3rd-declension feminine noun, so its nominative singular form ends in -o.

So you should not assume:

• -a always means feminine
• -o always means masculine or neuter

The declension and dictionary form tell you what the noun is.

Grammatically, verum means true. In context, that can overlap with correct, but the Latin adjective here is specifically the one for true.

So the sentence is saying that the boy’s answer is true or truthful/correct in substance, not just that he gave an answer.

Yes: the sentence is very typical, clear Latin prose.

It follows a straightforward pattern:

• subject
• adjective
• verb

then

• conjunction
• subject
• genitive
• adjective
• verb

So:

• Quaestio difficilis est
• sed responsum pueri verum est

Latin can vary word order more than English, but this arrangement is very readable and beginner-friendly.