Hic titulus brevior est quam ille.

Hic is the masculine singular nominative form of the demonstrative pronoun/adjective meaning this.

In this sentence, it goes with titulus because both are:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So hic titulus means this title or this inscription.

Latin demonstratives change form depending on gender, number, and case. For example:

• hic titulus = this title
• haec epistula = this letter
• hoc verbum = this word

Titulus is a masculine noun, here in the nominative singular.

Depending on context, it can mean things like:

• title
• label
• heading
• inscription

In this sentence, it is the subject of est, so hic titulus is the thing being described as shorter.

Brevis means short in the normal, positive degree.

But the sentence is making a comparison: shorter than that one.
So Latin uses the comparative form: brevior = shorter.

The three degrees are:

• brevis = short
• brevior = shorter
• brevissimus = shortest

So:

• titulus brevis est = the title is short
• titulus brevior est = the title is shorter

That is the normal ending for many Latin comparative adjectives.

For many adjectives, the comparative is formed from the stem plus -ior for masculine/feminine nominative singular and -ius for neuter nominative singular.

Examples:

• altus → altior = higher
• longus → longior = longer
• brevis → brevior = shorter

Here brevior agrees with titulus, which is masculine singular nominative.

Quam means than in comparisons.

So:

• brevior quam ille = shorter than that one

It introduces the second thing being compared.

A very common Latin pattern is:

• comparative adjective + quam
• for example, maior quam, longior quam, melior quam

Because with quam, Latin often puts the thing compared in the same case as the first item.

Here, hic titulus is nominative, so ille is also nominative:

• hic titulus = nominative
• ille = nominative

So literally the structure is something like:

• this title is shorter than that one is

Latin can also sometimes use the ablative instead of quam with comparatives, but not here. This sentence uses the very straightforward quam + same case construction.

Ille means that or that one.

It can be:

• an adjective: that title
• or a pronoun: that one

Here it stands by itself, so it means that one, with titulus understood.

So the full sense is:

• this title is shorter than that one

Because Latin often leaves out a word if it is already obvious from context.

So instead of saying:

• Hic titulus brevior est quam ille titulus

Latin simply says:

• Hic titulus brevior est quam ille

The noun titulus is understood after ille.

English does this too:

• This title is shorter than that one instead of
• This title is shorter than that title

Est is the third person singular present of esse, meaning to be.

So it means is.

The core structure is:

• Hic titulus = subject
• brevior = predicate adjective
• est = is
• quam ille = than that one

So literally:

• This title shorter is than that one

More natural English:

• This title is shorter than that one

Sometimes Latin does omit forms of to be, especially in poetry or very compressed styles, but in normal prose est is usually expressed here.

So Hic titulus brevior quam ille might be understandable in some contexts, but Hic titulus brevior est quam ille is the standard full form.

Yes, Latin word order is flexible because the endings show the grammatical relationships.

This sentence uses a very clear and natural order:

• Hic titulus = this title
• brevior est = is shorter
• quam ille = than that one

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Hic brevior est titulus quam ille
• Brevior est hic titulus quam ille

These would still mean basically the same thing, though they may sound more marked or stylistically different.

Latin often changes word order for emphasis.

You can tell mainly from agreement and meaning.

• hic agrees with titulus
• brevior also describes titulus
• ille stands alone but refers back to an understood titulus

So the structure is:

• hic titulus = this title
• brevior est = is shorter
• quam ille = than that one

Agreement is one of the most important tools for reading Latin.

Yes. It is masculine nominative singular here because it describes titulus, which is masculine nominative singular.

Comparative adjectives of this type use the same form for masculine and feminine nominative singular:

• masculine: brevior
• feminine: brevior
• neuter: brevius

So if the noun were neuter, you would expect brevius, not brevior.

They are both demonstratives, but they point to different things.

• hic = this, usually something nearer to the speaker or more immediate
• ille = that, usually something farther away or less immediate

So the sentence contrasts two things:

• hic titulus = this title
• ille = that one

This is a very common Latin contrast.

In theory, ille can mean he, that man, or that one, depending on context.

But in this sentence, because titulus has just been mentioned, the most natural interpretation is that one, with titulus understood.

So a learner should read:

• quam ille = than that one not
• than he

Context normally makes this clear.

The sentence follows a very common Latin comparison pattern:

• demonstrative + noun
• comparative adjective + est
• quam + demonstrative/pronoun

So here:

• Hic titulus = this title
• brevior est = is shorter
• quam ille = than that one

A good model to remember is:

• X comparativus est quam Y
• X is more/less adjective than Y

This pattern appears constantly in Latin.