Tacete; magister enim in bibliotheca legit.

Tacete is the 2nd person plural present imperative of tacēre, meaning to be quiet, to be silent, or to keep quiet.

So it means be quiet! or be silent! when speaking to more than one person.

Compare:

• tace = be quiet! (to one person)
• tacete = be quiet! (to more than one person)

The ending -te shows that the command is addressed to you all rather than to one person.

Latin often makes this distinction very clearly:

• singular command: tace
• plural command: tacete

So the speaker is telling a group of people to be quiet.

Enim usually means for, indeed, or you see. In this sentence it gives the reason for the command:

• Tacete = Be quiet
• magister enim in bibliotheca legit = for the teacher is reading in the library

So enim connects the two ideas: Be quiet, for the teacher is reading in the library.

Because enim is a postpositive word in Latin. That means it normally comes after the first word of its clause, not before it.

So Latin prefers:

• magister enim...

rather than:

• enim magister...

This is very normal Latin word order and is something learners just get used to.

Magister is in the nominative singular, which is the case commonly used for the subject of a sentence.

Also, the verb legit is 3rd person singular, so it matches a singular subject: the teacher.

So:

• magister = the teacher
• legit = reads / is reading

Together: the teacher reads / is reading

Latin often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed. The verb ending already tells you the person and number.

Here, legit means he/she/it reads or is reading, because the ending -it marks 3rd person singular.

Since magister is already present, Latin does not need to add is (he). Using a pronoun would usually add emphasis.

Because in takes different cases depending on the meaning:

• in + ablative = in / on with location
• in + accusative = into / onto with motion toward

Here the teacher is in the library, not moving into it, so Latin uses the ablative:

• in bibliotheca = in the library

If it meant into the library, it would be:

• in bibliothecam

It is ablative singular because it follows in in a location sense.

The dictionary form is bibliotheca, a 1st-declension noun. Its forms include:

• nominative singular: bibliotheca
• ablative singular: bibliothecā

In most texts, vowel length marks are not written, so you see bibliotheca either way. But grammatically here it is ablative: in the library.

In this sentence, legit means reads or is reading.

It comes from legere, meaning to read.

A famous detail is that legit can represent two different forms in ordinary spelling:

• legit = he/she reads (present)
• lēgit = he/she read / has read (perfect)

Without vowel marks, the forms look the same. Here the context clearly suggests the present: the teacher is reading.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because Latin uses endings to show grammatical function.

Putting the verb at the end is very common in Latin, especially in simple prose:

• magister enim in bibliotheca legit

English normally prefers:

• for the teacher is reading in the library

Latin can move words around for emphasis or style, but here the order is quite natural.

Yes, often they could. Because Latin relies heavily on inflected endings, the basic meaning can remain the same even if the order changes.

For example, these would still be understandable:

• Tacete; enim magister in bibliotheca legit — less natural because enim normally should not come first
• Tacete; in bibliotheca enim magister legit
• Tacete; magister in bibliotheca enim legit — also less natural placement for enim

The most natural version is the one you have:

• Tacete; magister enim in bibliotheca legit.

So yes, word order can vary, but not every arrangement is equally idiomatic.

The semicolon separates the command from the explanation:

• Tacete = command
• magister enim in bibliotheca legit = reason

English could also use a comma or even a full stop depending on style:

• Be quiet, for the teacher is reading in the library.
• Be quiet; the teacher is reading in the library.

So the semicolon helps show a pause and a close connection between the two parts.