Pistor dicit panem recentissimum hodie emendum esse.

Because it is the subject of an indirect statement after dicit.

In Latin, after verbs like dicit (says), putat (thinks), scit (knows), and many others, the reported statement is usually expressed with:

• an accusative subject
• plus an infinitive

So in Pistor dicit panem recentissimum hodie emendum esse, the clause after dicit is an indirect statement, and panem is the accusative subject of emendum esse.

So structurally:

• Pistor = the baker
• dicit = says
• panem recentissimum ... emendum esse = that the freshest bread must be bought today

Even though panem would be the logical subject of the English clause, Latin puts it in the accusative here because of this construction.

Emendum esse is a passive periphrastic infinitive.

It is made from:

• emendum = the gerundive of emo, emere (to buy)
• esse = to be

Together, they express necessity or obligation:

• emendum est = it must be bought / is to be bought
• emendum esse = to have to be bought / that it must be bought

In this sentence, because the whole clause depends on dicit, Latin uses the infinitive esse rather than a finite verb like est.

So the baker is not just saying that the bread is being bought, but that it ought to be bought or must be bought.

Because it agrees with panem.

The gerundive emendum is an adjective-like form, so it must match the noun it goes with in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• panem is masculine singular accusative
• so the gerundive must also be masculine singular accusative
• therefore: emendum

If the noun were different, the form would change:

• puellam emendam esse = that the girl must be bought
• libros emendos esse = that the books must be bought

So emendum is not a fixed form by itself; it changes to match the noun.

Because it modifies panem, so it must agree with it.

• panem = masculine singular accusative
• recentissimum = masculine singular accusative

This is normal adjective agreement in Latin. Since recentissimum describes panem, it has to match it.

So:

• panis recens = fresh bread
• panem recentem = fresh bread (accusative)
• panem recentissimum = freshest / very fresh bread (accusative)

It is formally a superlative, so its basic meaning is freshest.

However, Latin superlatives do not always work exactly like English superlatives. Depending on context, a superlative can mean:

• literally the freshest
• or more loosely very fresh

So panem recentissimum could mean:

• the freshest bread
• or very fresh bread

If the meaning has already been given to the learner, then the main grammar point is simply that recentissimum is the superlative form of recens.

It is the accusative-and-infinitive construction, often abbreviated ACI.

This is one of the most important Latin sentence patterns. After verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, perceiving, and similar verbs, Latin often uses:

• accusative for the subject of the reported clause
• infinitive for the verb of the reported clause

So:

• Pistor dicit = the baker says
• panem ... emendum esse = that the bread must be bought

A learner coming from English often expects a clause with that and a finite verb, but Latin usually prefers the ACI instead.

Compare:

• English: The baker says that the bread must be bought today.
• Latin: Pistor dicit panem hodie emendum esse.

Because Latin usually does not need one in this type of construction.

In English, we say:

• The baker says that the bread must be bought today.

In Latin, the idea of that is built into the ACI construction itself:

• panem ... emendum esse

So the sentence does not need a separate word meaning that. The accusative subject plus infinitive already signals reported speech or thought.

The sentence does not explicitly say.

The passive periphrastic here expresses necessity:

• panem emendum esse = that the bread must be bought

But it does not name the person who has the duty. In Latin, the person obligated can be expressed with a dative of agent, but there is no such dative here.

So the sense is general:

• the bread must be bought today
• one should buy the bread today

If Latin wanted to specify the person, it could add a dative, for example:

• mihi panis emendus est = I must buy the bread / the bread must be bought by me

But in your sentence, that idea is left unstated.

Hodie means today, and it modifies the verbal idea emendum esse.

In other words, it tells us when the buying must happen:

• panem hodie emendum esse = that the bread must be bought today

It does not grammatically modify panem or recentissimum. It belongs with the idea of obligation and buying.

Yes, the word order is perfectly normal for Latin.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because the endings show the grammatical relationships. That means Latin can move words around for emphasis, rhythm, or style.

Here:

• Pistor = subject
• dicit = main verb
• panem recentissimum hodie emendum esse = indirect statement

Within that indirect statement:

• panem recentissimum stays together as noun + adjective
• hodie is placed before emendum esse, near the verbal idea it modifies

So the order is natural and understandable. A different order would also be possible, for example:

• Pistor dicit hodie panem recentissimum emendum esse
• Pistor dicit panem hodie recentissimum emendum esse

But the given order is a good, idiomatic one.

Because the clause after dicit must use an infinitive, not a finite verb.

If this were a direct statement, you might have:

• Panis hodie emendus est = The bread must be bought today.

But after dicit, Latin changes the reported statement into an indirect statement, so the finite verb est becomes the infinitive esse:

• dicit panem hodie emendum esse = says that the bread must be bought today

So the change from est to esse is a direct result of the ACI construction.

It is a gerundive, not a gerund.

A gerund is a verbal noun.
A gerundive is a verbal adjective.

Here, emendum agrees with panem, so it is clearly functioning adjectivally. That makes it a gerundive.

This matters because the passive periphrastic is formed with:

• gerundive + esse

So:

• emendum esse = to have to be bought

not just some abstract verbal noun meaning buying.

Not in natural English, but that question gets at the right grammar.

A more literal, grammar-focused unpacking would be something like:

• The baker says the freshest bread to be to-be-bought today.

That is awkward English, of course, but it shows the Latin structure:

• panem = accusative subject
• recentissimum = adjective modifying panem
• emendum = gerundive expressing necessity
• esse = infinitive required by indirect statement

In proper English, we smooth this out as:

• The baker says that the freshest bread must be bought today.

So the normal translation hides some of the Latin structure, but the underlying grammar is exactly what the sentence is using.