Magistra exemplum clarum ostendit, ita discipuli facilius discunt.

Because magistra is in the nominative singular, which is the case typically used for the subject of a finite verb.

Here, magistra means the female teacher or teacher. It is the one doing the action of ostendit (shows), so it is the subject.

Exemplum is the direct object of ostendit. It is the thing being shown.

The verb ostendere usually takes a direct object in the accusative, so:

• magistra = the teacher
• exemplum = the example

The teacher shows the example, so exemplum must be accusative.

Also, exemplum is a neuter second-declension noun, and its nominative and accusative singular look the same. So even though the form is exemplum, here its job is accusative.

Because clarum agrees with exemplum, not with magistra.

Latin adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Exemplum is:

• neuter
• singular
• accusative

So the adjective must also be:

• neuter
• singular
• accusative

That gives clarum.

If it described magistra, then it would be clara, because magistra is feminine nominative singular.

Ita means something like so, thus, or in this way.

In this sentence, it connects the two ideas:

• the teacher shows a clear example
• so the students learn more easily

So ita signals the result or consequence of the first clause.

It is not introducing a full ita ... ut result clause here. It is simply being used adverbially: and so / thus.

Facilius is the comparative adverb, meaning more easily.

It modifies the verb discunt (they learn), not a noun. So we need an adverb, not an adjective.

Compare:

• facile = easily
• facilius = more easily

So the sentence means the students do not just learn; they learn more easily.

It is the comparative adverb from facile (easily), which comes from the adjective facilis, facile (easy).

The pattern is:

• adjective: facilis = easy
• adverb: facile = easily
• comparative adverb: facilius = more easily

This is a useful pattern to remember, because many Latin adverbs have comparative forms ending in -ius.

Because discipuli is the subject of discunt.

The verb discunt is third person plural, meaning they learn, so its subject must also be plural. Discipuli is the nominative plural form of discipulus (student, pupil).

So:

• discipuli = the students
• discunt = learn / are learning

Discunt is present active indicative, third person plural.

It comes from discere (to learn).

So it means:

• they learn
• or they are learning

In a sentence like this, the present tense often expresses a general truth or repeated situation: when the teacher shows a clear example, the students learn more easily.

This is a very good question, because ostendit can be ambiguous in spelling.

It can mean either:

• he/she shows = present tense
• he/she showed = perfect tense

In this sentence, the context strongly suggests present tense:

• ostendit = shows
• discunt = learn

Both verbs are working together as a general present-time statement.

If it were meant as perfect (showed), we would usually expect the rest of the sentence to make that clearer from context.

Classical Latin does not have definite or indefinite articles like English the or a/an.

So:

• magistra can mean teacher or the teacher
• exemplum can mean an example or the example
• discipuli can mean students or the students

The exact sense depends on context. In most natural translations here, English uses the:

The teacher shows a clear example, so the students learn more easily.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show each word’s grammatical role.

So Latin can say:

• Magistra exemplum clarum ostendit
• Exemplum clarum magistra ostendit
• Clarum exemplum magistra ostendit

All of these could mean basically the same thing: The teacher shows a clear example.

The chosen order is straightforward and natural:

• subject first: magistra
• object phrase next: exemplum clarum
• verb last: ostendit

That verb-final placement is especially common in Latin prose.

In Latin, adjectives can come before or after the nouns they modify.

So both are possible:

• exemplum clarum
• clarum exemplum

The difference is usually not one of basic meaning, but sometimes of emphasis or style.

Here, exemplum clarum is perfectly normal Latin and simply means a clear example.

The comma helps the reader see the sentence as having two related clauses:

1. Magistra exemplum clarum ostendit
2. ita discipuli facilius discunt

In Latin manuscripts, punctuation was not always used the way modern editions use it, so the comma is mainly a reading aid in modern printed text.

It shows that the second clause follows from the first: so / thus the students learn more easily.

Yes, but that would make it a different structure.

Latin often uses ita ... ut for a formal result clause:

• Magistra exemplum tam clarum ostendit ut discipuli facilius discant.
• The teacher shows such a clear example that the students learn more easily.

But your sentence does not do that. It simply has:

• statement 1
• ita = so / thus
• statement 2

So this is a simpler coordination of ideas, not a full ita ... ut result construction.

It has two main clauses:

1. Magistra exemplum clarum ostendit
   = The teacher shows a clear example

2. ita discipuli facilius discunt
   = so the students learn more easily

So the full idea is:

The teacher shows a clear example, so the students learn more easily.

This kind of sentence is useful because it shows how Latin can express cause and result without needing a subordinate clause.