Mons altus prope vallem stat.

Mons is nominative singular, so it is the subject of the sentence.

You can tell it is the subject because:

• the verb stat is third person singular: he/she/it stands
• mons is a singular noun that matches that verb
• in Latin, the subject is usually put in the nominative case

So mons is the thing doing the action of standing.

Because altus has to agree with mons.

Latin adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Mons is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

That gives altus.

Because prope takes the accusative case when it means near as a preposition.

So:

• dictionary form: vallis = valley
• after prope: vallem = near the valley

This is something you simply learn with the preposition:

• prope + accusative

Here prope is a preposition meaning near.

It is followed by a noun in the accusative case, which is why you get vallem.

So the phrase prope vallem means near the valley.

Latin prope can also sometimes be used as an adverb, but in this sentence it is clearly a preposition because it is followed by a noun.

Stat is more vivid than est.

• est means is
• stat means stands

So stat suggests that the mountain is not just existing; it is standing there, rising up, occupying its place. Latin often uses a more concrete verb where English might just use is.

Stat is:

• present tense
• third person singular
• from the verb stare = to stand

So it means stands or sometimes is standing.

Because it is singular, it matches the singular subject mons.

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

So mons can mean, depending on context:

• a mountain
• the mountain

And vallem can mean:

• a valley
• the valley

You decide from the context which English article fits best.

Yes, the words could be arranged differently.

Latin word order is more flexible than English because the endings show each word’s role. For example, these would still make sense:

• Mons altus prope vallem stat.
• Prope vallem mons altus stat.
• Altus mons prope vallem stat.

The original order is natural and straightforward, but changing the order can shift emphasis. Latin often moves words around for style, focus, or rhythm.

In Latin, adjectives can come before or after the noun.

So both of these are possible in principle:

• mons altus
• altus mons

The choice often depends on style or emphasis rather than a hard rule. In a simple sentence like this, mons altus is perfectly normal.

Mons is a third-declension noun.

Its dictionary form is usually given as:

• mons, montis = mountain

That second form, montis, shows the stem mont-, which appears in other cases.

For example:

• nominative singular: mons
• genitive singular: montis
• accusative singular: montem

So even though the nominative is mons, the full stem is not mons- but mont-.

A basic classical pronunciation would be approximately:

mons AHL-toos PROH-peh WAHL-lem staht

A few helpful points:

• mons: the o is like the o in off
• altus: both vowels are clear, AHL-toos
• prope: two syllables, PROH-peh
• vallem: the ll is pronounced clearly, WAHL-lem
• stat: the a is like father, not like cat

Even if your pronunciation is not perfect, the important thing is to say each vowel clearly and pronounce all the consonants.