Post scholam magister cum discipulis de sermone brevi et claro loquitur.

Because post is a preposition that takes the accusative when it means after.

So:

• post = after
• scholam = school / class in the accusative singular

That is why Latin says post scholam, not post schola.

It can mean either, depending on context. Schola can refer to:

• a school
• a lesson / class session
• a place of instruction more generally

So post scholam may mean:

• after school
• after class

The exact nuance depends on the context you have been given.

Magister is in the nominative singular, which is the normal case for the subject of the sentence.

Here it means the teacher or a teacher.

Latin often shows the subject by its case ending, not by its position. Even though English relies heavily on word order, Latin relies much more on endings.

Latin has no articles. That means it has no separate words for the or a/an.

So:

• magister can mean the teacher or a teacher
• discipulis can mean the students or students

You decide which is best from context and from the translation already provided.

Discipulis is ablative plural.

It is ablative because it follows cum, and cum meaning with takes the ablative.

So:

• cum discipulis = with the students

Most naturally, it means talks with the students.

The verb loquor often suggests speaking or conversing, and cum clearly gives the idea with. So this phrase has a slightly more mutual or conversational feel than a one-way speaks to.

That said, in English, talks to may still be a natural translation in some contexts.

Because de is another preposition that takes the ablative.

So:

• de = about / concerning
• sermone = speech / conversation / style of speaking in the ablative singular

Together:

• de sermone = about speech / about a conversation / about speaking

The exact English wording depends on context.

The noun sermo, sermonis can mean things like:

• conversation
• speech
• talk
• style or manner of speaking

In this sentence, because it is modified by brevi et claro (brief and clear), it probably refers to speech or speaking in a general sense, or possibly a particular speech / talk if the context points that way.

So the phrase could mean something like:

• about brief and clear speech
• about a brief and clear talk

They are adjectives agreeing with sermone.

Since sermone is:

• ablative
• singular
• masculine

the adjectives must match it.

So:

• brevi = ablative singular of brevis
• claro = ablative singular of clarus

This is standard adjective agreement in Latin: adjectives match the noun they describe in case, number, and gender.

Because they belong to different adjective patterns.

• brevis, breve is a third-declension adjective
• clarus, clara, clarum is a first/second-declension adjective

Even though they are both agreeing with the same noun, they keep the endings that belong to their own declension type.

So both are ablative singular masculine, but they look different because they come from different adjective classes.

Because et simply means and.

Here it joins two adjectives that both describe sermone:

• brevi
• claro

So de sermone brevi et claro means about brief and clear speech.

Because loquitur comes from loquor, which is a deponent verb.

A deponent verb:

• has passive-looking forms
• but an active meaning

So:

• loquitur looks like a passive form
• but it means he/she speaks or talks

That is why the sentence is translated actively.

The dictionary form is loquor, and it is usually listed like this:

• loquor, loqui, locutus sum

This tells you it is a deponent verb. In the sentence, loquitur is:

• present tense
• third person singular
• indicative

So it means he/she is speaking, he/she speaks, or he/she talks, depending on context.

Because the verb ending already tells you the person and number.

Loquitur means he/she speaks or he/she talks. The ending -tur shows it is third person singular.

Since magister is also present, the subject is perfectly clear, so no separate pronoun is needed.

Latin often leaves out subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because Latin uses case endings to show grammatical relationships.

English depends heavily on order:

• The teacher talks with the students

Latin can move parts around more freely because endings show who is doing what.

This sentence begins with Post scholam to set the time first: After school... Then comes the subject magister, then other phrases, and the verb loquitur comes at the end, which is very common in Latin.

So the order is natural Latin, even if it feels less natural in English.

Yes. Latin could simply say:

• Post scholam cum discipulis de sermone brevi et claro loquitur.

The verb loquitur already tells you he/she. But adding magister makes the subject explicit:

• the teacher

So including magister gives clarity or emphasis.