Magistra discipulis clarissimum exemplum ostendit.

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

• magistra = teacher (female)
• Ending -a here is the nominative singular ending of a first-declension noun.

So magistra is the person doing the action of ostendit.

Because discipulis is in the dative plural, and the dative case often expresses the indirect object.

With a verb like ostendit (shows), Latin often uses:

• nominative for the person doing the action
• dative for the person receiving something
• accusative for the thing being shown

So discipulis means to the students or for the students, depending on context.

Because it is the direct object of ostendit: it is the thing being shown.

• exemplum is a neuter singular noun.
• clarissimum is an adjective modifying exemplum.
• Since exemplum is accusative singular neuter, clarissimum must also be accusative singular neuter.

So both words match because they belong together grammatically.

Because clarissimum agrees with exemplum, not with magistra.

In Latin, an adjective agrees with the noun it modifies in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• exemplum is neuter singular accusative
• so the adjective must also be neuter singular accusative
• therefore: clarissimum exemplum

The adjective is not describing the teacher; it is describing the example.

Clarissimum is the superlative form of clarus, which means things like clear, bright, famous, or distinguished, depending on context.

So clarissimum means something like:

• clearest
• very clear
• most distinguished

In many beginner sentences, a superlative may be translated naturally as very clear or most clear, depending on the English meaning already provided.

It can be either one, depending on context.

The form ostendit can be:

• present tense: she shows
• perfect tense: she showed or she has shown

Latin sometimes has forms that are spelled the same in the present and perfect. Normally the surrounding context tells you which meaning is intended.

So if the translation given to the learner says shows, that is because the context supports the present tense.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order, and it is very common for the verb to come at or near the end of the sentence.

A very common Latin pattern is:

subject - indirect object - direct object - verb

That is exactly what we have here:

• Magistra = subject
• discipulis = indirect object
• clarissimum exemplum = direct object
• ostendit = verb

Latin uses word endings, not just word position, to show each word’s job in the sentence.

Yes. Because the case endings show the grammatical roles, Latin can rearrange the words without changing the basic meaning.

For example, these would still mean essentially the same thing:

• Discipulis magistra clarissimum exemplum ostendit.
• Clarissimum exemplum magistra discipulis ostendit.
• Magistra clarissimum exemplum discipulis ostendit.

However, changing the order can change the emphasis. A word placed earlier in the sentence often gets more attention.

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

So magistra can mean:

• a teacher
• the teacher

And exemplum can mean:

• an example
• the example

The context determines which English article is best.

Here is the grammatical breakdown:

• magistra: first declension noun
• discipulis: from discipulus, a second declension noun
• exemplum: second declension neuter noun
• clarissimum: adjective from clarus, using first/second declension adjective endings
• ostendit: verb from ostendere, a third conjugation verb

Knowing these patterns helps you recognize the endings more quickly.

The ending -is in this form shows dative plural (or ablative plural, depending on context).

Since the sentence needs an indirect object after ostendit, discipulis is understood as dative plural:

• discipulo = to the student
• discipulis = to the students

So the ending tells you that more than one student is involved.