Puer ramum fractum tollit, sed avus alium ramum viridem laudat.

Because puer is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject of a sentence in Latin.

• puer = the boy
• tollit = he lifts / picks up

So puer ramum fractum tollit means the boy picks up the broken branch.

Latin often shows the subject by its ending, not just by word order.

Ramum is the direct object of tollit, so it appears in the accusative singular.

Here is the pattern:

• ramus = nominative singular = branch as subject
• ramum = accusative singular = branch as object

Since the branch is what the boy is picking up, Latin uses ramum.

The same thing happens later with alium ramum: that branch is the object of laudat.

Latin word order is flexible. Both ramum fractum and fractum ramum can mean the broken branch.

In this sentence, fractum still modifies ramum because the two words agree in:

• case: accusative
• number: singular
• gender: masculine

So even though English usually depends more on word order, Latin depends more on endings.

Because it describes ramum.

Ramus is:

• masculine
• singular
• accusative here

So the adjective must match it:

• fract-us = masculine nominative singular
• fract-um = masculine accusative singular

This is called agreement: Latin adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case.

It is a perfect passive participle of frangere (to break), but in this sentence it works like an adjective.

So:

• fractus = broken
• ramus fractus = a broken branch
• ramum fractum = a broken branch as object

A learner can safely understand it here as an adjective meaning broken.

Because avus is the subject of the second verb, laudat.

The sentence has two parts joined by sed:

1. Puer ramum fractum tollit
2. sed avus alium ramum viridem laudat

So:

• puer is the subject of tollit
• avus is the subject of laudat

Both are nominative singular because both are subjects.

Sed means but.

It connects the two clauses and shows a contrast:

• The boy picks up the broken branch
• but the grandfather praises another green branch

So sed is a very common coordinating conjunction used to link two complete ideas.

Because they do two different jobs:

• alium = another / a different
• viridem = green

Both describe ramum, so both must agree with it in case, number, and gender.

That gives:

• alium ramum = another branch
• ramum viridem = a green branch
• together: alium ramum viridem = another green branch

Because it modifies ramum, which is accusative singular masculine.

Alius, alia, aliud means another or other. In this sentence, the form needed is:

• alium = masculine accusative singular

It matches ramum exactly, just as viridem does.

Because viridis, viride is a third-declension adjective, and many third-declension adjectives use the same accusative singular form for masculine and feminine.

So:

• masculine accusative singular: viridem
• feminine accusative singular: viridem
• neuter accusative singular: viride

Here it is masculine because it describes ramum, a masculine noun.

In Latin, the verb ending often already includes the subject.

Both tollit and laudat are third person singular present active:

• tollit = he/she/it lifts
• laudat = he/she/it praises

Then the nouns puer and avus make clear who the he is in each clause.

So Latin usually does not need a separate word for he.

Yes. Both verbs are in the present tense:

• tollit = picks up / is picking up
• laudat = praises / is praising

Depending on context, English may translate the Latin present in slightly different ways, but the basic tense is present.

Yes, very often.

For example, Latin could say:

• Ramum fractum puer tollit
• Avus sed alium ramum viridem laudat
• Puer tollit ramum fractum

The exact emphasis may change, but the basic grammatical relationships stay clear because of the case endings.

That is one of the most important things for English speakers to get used to: in Latin, endings matter more than position.

Classical Latin has no definite or indefinite article.

So:

• puer can mean the boy or a boy
• ramum can mean the branch or a branch

The translator decides from context which English article sounds best. In this sentence, English naturally uses the boy, the broken branch, and another green branch.

A useful method is to match words by agreement.

In this sentence:

• ramum fractum go together because both are masculine singular accusative
• alium ramum viridem go together because alium and viridem both describe ramum, and they all fit the object role in the second clause

Then look for the verbs:

• puer → tollit
• avus → laudat

So a good reading strategy is:

1. Find the verbs.
2. Find the nominative subjects.
3. Find the accusative objects.
4. Match adjectives to nouns by agreement.