Discipulus notam malam timet, sed melius laborare conatur.

Latin does not have words for the or a/an, so discipulus can mean the student or a student, depending on context.

It appears first because Latin often puts the topic or subject near the beginning, but Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order. Here, starting with discipulus makes it clear right away who is doing the actions.

Both words must match each other in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• notam = feminine, singular, accusative
• malam = feminine, singular, accusative

So malam agrees with notam.

As for the order, Latin adjectives can come before or after the noun. So notam malam and malam notam are both possible. This sentence simply uses noun + adjective.

They are in the accusative because they are the direct object of timet.

The verb timere means to fear or to be afraid of, and in Latin it takes a direct object:

• notam malam timet = he/she fears a bad grade

So the thing being feared goes into the accusative.

In this sentence, nota means mark, grade, or school mark.

So notam malam means:

• a bad grade
• a poor mark

The exact English wording depends on context, but the Latin idea is the same.

Timet is the 3rd person singular present active indicative of timere.

That means:

• tim- = the verb stem
• -e- = part of the conjugation pattern
• -t = he/she/it

So timet means:

• he fears
• she fears
• is afraid of

Because the subject is discipulus (student), we understand it as the student fears.

Because Latin often leaves out a subject when it is already clear.

In sed melius laborare conatur, the verb conatur is 3rd person singular, so we understand the subject to be the same as before: discipulus.

So Latin does not need to repeat discipulus:

• The student fears a bad grade, but [the student] tries to work better.

Because melius is the comparative form of the adverb bene (well), while melior is the comparative form of the adjective bonus (good).

Here it modifies the verb laborare (to work), so Latin needs an adverb:

• bene = well
• melius = better

So:

• melius laborare = to work better

If you used melior, that would be an adjective, not the right form for modifying laborare.

Because conatur means tries and is followed by an infinitive in Latin.

So the structure is:

• conatur laborare = tries to work

This is very similar to English:

• tries to work

The infinitive laborare expresses the action that the student is trying to do.

Because conor, conari, conatus sum is a deponent verb.

A deponent verb:

• looks passive in its forms
• but has an active meaning

So conatur looks passive in form, but means:

• he/she tries

This is why the ending may seem unusual if you are expecting a regular active verb.

Conatur is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• indicative mood
• deponent

So it means:

• he tries
• she tries
• is trying

In this sentence:

• discipulus ... conatur = the student tries

Literally, it means to work better.

However, in natural English, depending on context, it could be translated as:

• to work better
• to work harder
• to do better work

The Latin word melius strictly means better, but English sometimes expresses the idea more naturally with harder.

Yes. Latin word order is flexible because the endings show the grammatical roles.

For example, these would still make sense:

• Notam malam discipulus timet, sed melius laborare conatur.
• Discipulus timet notam malam, sed conatur melius laborare.

The original order is natural, but not the only possible one. Changes in order often affect emphasis more than basic meaning.

Sed means but.

It connects the two parts of the sentence and shows contrast:

• the student fears a bad grade
• but he/she tries to work better

So sed signals that the second idea contrasts with the first one.