Tabellarius celerrime currit et epistulam ad villam portat.

Because tabellarius is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject.

So in this sentence:

• tabellarius = the letter-carrier / messenger
• currit = runs
• portat = carries

That tells you the letter-carrier is the one doing both actions.

In Latin, the verb ending often tells you the subject.

Both currit and portat are third person singular present tense, so they mean:

• he runs
• she runs
• it runs

and

• he carries
• she carries
• it carries

Since the noun tabellarius is masculine and singular, we understand the subject here as he, or more naturally in English, the letter-carrier.

Latin usually does not need a separate subject pronoun when the verb ending already makes the person and number clear.

Because epistulam is the direct object of portat.

The direct object is the thing being carried, so:

• portat = carries
• epistulam = a letter / the letter

The ending -am shows that epistula is in the accusative singular, which is a very common case for a direct object.

So:

• epistula = subject form, a letter
• epistulam = object form, a letter

No. Villam is accusative singular, but here it is not a direct object. It is used after the preposition ad.

• ad usually takes the accusative
• ad villam means to the house / toward the house / to the villa

So the two accusatives in the sentence do different jobs:

• epistulam = direct object of portat
• villam = object of the preposition ad

This is a very common thing in Latin: the accusative can be used both for direct objects and after certain prepositions.

It means to the house, to the villa, or toward the country house, depending on context.

The preposition ad usually shows movement toward something. So:

• ad villam portat = he carries the letter to the house

This is different from location:

• in villa = in the house
• ad villam = to the house

That contrast between location and motion toward is very important in Latin.

Celerrime is the superlative adverb of celer, meaning:

• quickly
• very quickly
• sometimes most quickly

The usual set is:

• celeriter = quickly
• celerius = more quickly
• celerrime = most quickly / very quickly

So celerrime currit means something like:

• he runs very quickly
• or he runs as quickly as possible
• or he runs most quickly, depending on context

In many beginner sentences, it is best understood simply as very quickly.

Classical Latin has no articles like English the and a/an.

So:

• tabellarius can mean the letter-carrier or a letter-carrier
• epistulam can mean the letter or a letter
• villam can mean the house, a house, the villa, or a villa

You decide which English article to use from the context.

That is why one Latin sentence can often be translated into English in more than one natural way.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because Latin uses case endings to show grammatical function.

In English, word order does most of that work:

• The messenger carries the letter

If you scramble the English words, the meaning changes or becomes unclear.

In Latin, endings help you tell what each word is doing:

• tabellarius = subject
• epistulam = direct object
• ad villam = destination

So Latin can move words around more easily. This sentence uses a fairly straightforward order, but many other orders would also be possible, for example:

• Epistulam tabellarius ad villam portat
• Ad villam tabellarius epistulam portat

The emphasis may change, but the basic meaning stays the same.

Here et connects two whole actions done by the same subject.

The sentence divides like this:

• Tabellarius celerrime currit
• et
• epistulam ad villam portat

So the messenger:

1. runs very quickly
2. and carries a letter to the house

Latin often leaves the subject unstated in the second part when it is the same as the first. English does this too:

• The messenger runs very quickly and carries a letter to the house

We do not need to repeat the messenger before carries.

Yes. The Latin present tense can often be translated in more than one way in English, depending on context.

So currit may mean:

• runs
• is running
• sometimes even does run

And portat may mean:

• carries
• is carrying

In a simple textbook sentence, English usually uses the plain present:

• The letter-carrier runs very quickly and carries a letter to the house

But in the right context, is running and is carrying could also be correct.

A simple classroom-style pronunciation would be:

• ta-bel-LA-ri-us
• ke-LER-ri-me or che-LER-ri-me, depending on the system used
• KUR-rit
• et
• e-pis-TU-lam
• ad
• WIL-lam or VIL-lam
• POR-tat

A few useful notes:

• c in classical Latin is always hard, like k
• v in reconstructed classical pronunciation sounds like w
• double consonants such as rr and ll are pronounced more strongly than single ones

So in a more classical pronunciation, it would sound roughly like:

ta-bel-LA-ri-us ke-LER-ri-me KUR-rit et e-pis-TU-lam ad WIL-lam POR-tat

Yes. Tabellarius commonly means messenger, letter-carrier, or courier.

It is a useful vocabulary word in sentences involving letters and delivery. In this sentence, it is the person who both runs and carries the letter.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• messenger
• courier
• postman
• letter-carrier

The exact choice depends on how formal or modern you want the English to sound.