Magistra discipulis regulam novam ostendit.

Because magistra is in the nominative singular, the case usually used for the subject of a sentence.

• magistra = nominative singular
• so it means the teacher as the one doing the action

Even though Latin word order is flexible, the ending helps you identify the job of the word.

Magistra is specifically a feminine noun, so it means a female teacher or mistress/instructress, depending on context.

Its masculine counterpart is magister.

So:

• magistra = female teacher
• magister = male teacher

Discipulis is dative plural here.

It is the indirect object, meaning the person or people to whom something is shown.

With ostendit, Latin often uses:

• a direct object in the accusative = the thing being shown
• an indirect object in the dative = the person being shown it

So discipulis means to the students.

By form alone, yes: discipulis can be either dative plural or ablative plural.

But in this sentence, it makes sense as dative plural, because ostendere commonly takes:

• something shown in the accusative
• someone shown it in the dative

So the sentence structure points clearly to dative here.

Because Latin often uses a case ending instead of a separate preposition.

In English, you say to the students. In Latin, the ending -is in discipulis already signals that idea here.

So Latin can express to the students with just one word: discipulis.

Because novam is an adjective describing regulam, and Latin adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• regulam is feminine singular accusative
• so novam must also be feminine singular accusative

That is why both words have matching endings.

Regulam novam is accusative singular.

It is the direct object, the thing being shown.

So the structure is:

• magistra = subject
• discipulis = indirect object
• regulam novam = direct object
• ostendit = verb

English often says shows the students a new rule. Latin marks those roles by case endings.

Ostendit is third person singular active indicative.

That means:

• third person = he/she/it
• singular = one person
• active = the subject performs the action
• indicative = a normal statement

So it means he/she shows or, depending on context, sometimes he/she showed.

In this sentence, if the meaning given is present, then it is understood as she shows.

Yes. In Latin, some verb forms are spelled the same in the present and the perfect.

So ostendit can mean either:

• she shows
• she showed

Normally, the surrounding context tells you which one is intended. If your lesson gives the meaning as present, then you should read it as shows here.

Latin usually does not need a separate subject pronoun when the verb ending already shows the person and number.

Because ostendit is third person singular, it already tells you he/she/it.

Then magistra makes it clear that the subject is she, namely the female teacher.

So Latin often leaves out words like she unless there is a special reason to emphasize them.

Putting the verb at the end is very common in Latin, although not required.

So this order:

• Magistra
• discipulis
• regulam novam
• ostendit

is a very natural Latin arrangement.

Latin word order is more flexible than English because the endings show each word’s role. The order often helps with emphasis or style, not just grammar.

Yes, often they could.

For example, Latin could also say things like:

• Magistra regulam novam discipulis ostendit
• Regulam novam magistra discipulis ostendit
• Discipulis magistra regulam novam ostendit

The basic meaning would stay the same because the case endings still show who is doing what.

However, a different order can slightly change the emphasis:

• putting regulam novam earlier can emphasize the thing shown
• putting discipulis earlier can emphasize the students

Yes. Latin adjectives can come either before or after the noun.

So both of these are possible:

• regulam novam
• novam regulam

The meaning stays the same because novam agrees with regulam in gender, number, and case. The choice of order is often about style or emphasis rather than basic grammar.

The dictionary forms are:

• magistra, magistrae = female teacher
• discipulus, discipuli or discipula, discipulae depending on context = student
• regula, regulae = rule
• ostendo, ostendere, ostendi, ostentum = show

A learner often looks up nouns by the nominative singular and genitive singular, and verbs by their principal parts.

Because discipulis could match the dative or ablative plural of both:

• discipulus = male student
• discipula = female student

So by itself, discipulis does not tell you whether the students are male, female, or mixed. The wider context would decide that.

In many beginner sentences, it is often taken from discipulus, but the form itself is not exclusive to that one noun.