Sapor huius herbae tam amarus est ut puella eam edere non velit.

Because it depends on sapor and shows possession or association: the taste of this plant.

• sapor = taste
• huius herbae = of this plant / of this herb

So Latin uses the genitive where English often uses of.

Latin often uses both the demonstrative and the noun together for clarity:

• huius = of this
• herbae = plant / herb

Together they mean of this plant. In some contexts Latin could leave the noun out if it were obvious, but here including herbae makes the phrase explicit.

huius is genitive singular.

It can be:

• masculine genitive singular
• feminine genitive singular
• neuter genitive singular

Here it is feminine because it goes with herbae, which is feminine.

So:

• huius herbae = of this plant

Because huius tells you that it is genitive singular here.

The form herbae could mean several things by itself:

• genitive singular: of the plant
• dative singular: to/for the plant
• nominative plural: plants

But huius can only be genitive singular here, so huius herbae must mean of this plant, not these plants.

Because it agrees with sapor, which is masculine.

In Latin, adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• sapor = masculine singular nominative
• amarus = masculine singular nominative

So amarus describes sapor, not herbae.

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• tam = so
• ut
  • subjunctive = that

So tam amarus est ut... means it is so bitter that...

This is called a result clause. The idea is that the bitterness produces a result.

Because it is in a result clause introduced by ut after tam.

Pattern:

• tam ... ut
  • subjunctive = so ... that

So:

• tam amarus est ut puella eam edere non velit
• it is so bitter that the girl does not want to eat it

The subjunctive here does not automatically mean doubt or unreality. It is used because Latin grammar requires it in this kind of clause.

After tam ... ut, Latin normally makes the result clause negative with non:

• ut ... velit = that she wants
• ut ... non velit = that she does not want

So non is the regular way to negate a result clause.

You may see nolo, nolle elsewhere meaning not want, but here non velit is the expected construction after ut.

eam is the direct object of edere.

• eam = her / it (accusative singular feminine)
• edere = to eat

So eam edere = to eat it

Here eam refers to the plant/herb.

Because pronouns refer to the thing itself, not to the case of the earlier word.

The plant appears first as part of the genitive phrase:

• huius herbae = of this plant

Later, the plant becomes the object of edere, so Latin uses the accusative:

• eam = it

So the reference stays the same, but the case changes because the grammatical job changes.

Because it depends on velit.

Latin, like English, often uses an infinitive after verbs of wanting:

• vult edere = she wants to eat
• non velit edere = she does not want to eat

So edere is a complementary infinitive: it completes the meaning of velit.

Because puella is the subject of velit.

Even though it is inside the ut clause, it still needs its own subject:

• puella = the girl
• velit = may want / wants in this result clause

So puella is nominative because she is the one doing the wanting.

Sapor means taste or flavor.

In this sentence it refers to the taste of the plant. English might say:

• the taste of this plant
• the flavor of this herb

Both are fine as general translations.

Here est is the normal expressed form of is:

• sapor ... amarus est = the taste ... is bitter

Latin sometimes omits forms of to be, especially in poetry or very compressed style, but in ordinary prose est is normally included.

Latin word order is more flexible because endings show each word’s role.

This sentence is arranged in a natural Latin way:

• Sapor huius herbae = topic first
• tam amarus est = main statement
• ut puella eam edere non velit = result

English relies more on fixed word order, but Latin can move words around for emphasis or style without changing the basic meaning.

Yes, Latin word order is somewhat flexible, but non velit is the most straightforward placement.

Here non negates the verb velit:

• the girl does not want to eat it

So placing non right before velit is clear and idiomatic.

Yes.

• amarus = bitter
• tam amarus = so bitter

The word tam sets up the result:

• so bitter that...

Without tam, you would simply be describing the taste as bitter, not emphasizing the consequence.

Not exactly in grammar, though the idea is related.

Latin tam ... ut is a result construction, not a causal one:

• so bitter that the girl does not want to eat it

English might sometimes paraphrase the idea as:

• because it is so bitter, the girl does not want to eat it

But the Latin structure specifically expresses result, not just cause.

Velit is present subjunctive, from velle.

In this sentence, because it is part of a result clause, you do not need to translate it as a separate may or might. It is best understood simply as:

• does not want

So:

• ut puella eam edere non velit
• that the girl does not want to eat it

It can mean different but related things depending on context:

• grass
• herb
• plant

In this sentence, plant or herb both work well. The important point is that herba is the thing whose taste is bitter and which the girl does not want to eat.

It breaks down like this:

• Sapor huius herbae = the taste of this plant
• tam amarus est = is so bitter
• ut puella eam edere non velit = that the girl does not want to eat it

So the full structure is:

main clause

• result clause

That is one of the most useful patterns to recognize in Latin prose.