Haec imago pulchrior est quam illa.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Haec imago = this image/picture
• pulchrior est = is more beautiful
• quam illa = than that one

So the basic pattern is:

subject + predicate adjective + est + comparison

A very literal English version would be:

This image is more beautiful than that one.

In Latin, illa stands for that image, with imago understood.

Because imago is a feminine singular noun, and haec is the feminine nominative singular form of hic, haec, hoc (this).

The forms are:

• hic = masculine
• haec = feminine
• hoc = neuter

Since imago is feminine, Latin uses haec.

Because Latin noun gender is not determined only by the last letter.

Imago is a third-declension feminine noun. Its ending in -o does not make it masculine or neuter automatically.

This is something English speakers often have to get used to: in Latin, you must learn a noun’s gender and declension as vocabulary facts.

For example:

• imago, imaginis = image, likeness, picture
• gender: feminine

So adjectives and demonstratives referring to imago must be feminine.

The important forms here are all nominative singular feminine:

• haec = nominative singular feminine
• imago = nominative singular
• pulchrior = nominative singular feminine here
• illa = nominative singular feminine

Why nominative?

• haec imago is the subject
• pulchrior is a predicate adjective with est, so it matches the subject
• illa means that one / that image, and after quam it stays in the same case as the thing being compared

So Latin is comparing one nominative noun phrase with another.

Because pulchrior is the comparative form: more beautiful.

• pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum = beautiful
• pulchrior = more beautiful (masculine/feminine)
• pulchrius = more beautiful (neuter)

So:

• pulchra = beautiful
• pulchrior = more beautiful

The sentence is making a comparison, so Latin needs the comparative form.

Yes. It agrees with imago in gender, number, and case.

Since imago is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective must match that.

One detail that can confuse learners: the comparative form pulchrior is the same for masculine and feminine nominative singular. So even though it looks a little unfamiliar, it is still the correct feminine form here.

Quam means than in comparisons.

So:

• pulchrior est quam illa = is more beautiful than that one

It links the thing being described to the thing it is being compared with.

English speakers sometimes want to treat quam like a preposition, but it is better to think of it as the standard comparison word than.

Here illa is nominative singular feminine.

That may feel surprising, because English speakers sometimes expect the second part of a comparison to behave like an object. But quam does not make illa accusative.

Instead, after quam, the compared word is usually in the same case as the thing it is being compared to.

Since the first side of the comparison is haec imago in the nominative, illa is nominative too.

So the sense is:

• this image is more beautiful
• than that image

Both are nominative.

Because Latin often omits a noun when it is easy to understand from context.

So illa here means:

• that one
• or more fully, that image

Latin does this very naturally with demonstratives and pronouns. English does something similar:

• This picture is prettier than that one.

We do not have to repeat picture, and Latin does not have to repeat imago.

Here it is functioning as a pronoun.

Why?

Because it stands by itself and does not directly modify a written noun. The noun imago is only understood.

Compare:

• illa imago = that image → adjective use
• illa = that one / that image → pronoun use

So in this sentence, haec is modifying imago, but illa stands alone.

Yes. Latin often uses the ablative of comparison instead of quam.

So another possible version is:

Haec imago pulchrior est illā.

That means the same thing: This image is more beautiful than that one.

Why might a writer choose quam illa instead?

• it can be clearer for beginners
• it is especially natural when the second term is a pronoun
• without macrons, illa and illā look the same in ordinary spelling, so quam avoids ambiguity

So the version with quam is very straightforward and common.

No. Latin word order is fairly flexible because the endings show the grammar.

This sentence could be rearranged in several ways without changing the basic meaning, for example:

• Haec imago pulchrior est quam illa
• Pulchrior est haec imago quam illa
• Haec imago quam illa pulchrior est

The original order is a clear, neutral way to say it. But Latin writers often move words around for emphasis, style, or rhythm.

In normal prose, est is the standard way to say is, so it is completely expected here.

Latin can sometimes omit forms of esse (to be) in poetry, in very compressed style, or when the meaning is obvious. But for a regular sentence like this, est is the normal choice.

So:

• pulchrior est = is more beautiful

That is the standard construction.

Even though pulcher is a first/second-declension adjective in its basic form, its comparative pulchrior belongs to the third declension.

That is normal for Latin comparatives.

So comparatives are declined like this pattern:

• masculine/feminine nominative singular: -ior
• neuter nominative singular: -ius

That is why you get:

• pulchrior for masculine/feminine
• pulchrius for neuter

So the form may look different from pulcher/pulchra/pulchrum, but it is exactly what Latin grammar expects.