Post brevem requiem discipuli celerius scribunt.

Because post is a preposition that normally takes the accusative case when it means after.

So in this sentence:

• post = after
• brevem requiem is in the accusative
• together they mean after a short rest

This is a very common pattern in Latin:

• post cenam = after dinner
• post bellum = after the war
• post paucos dies = after a few days

So post brevem requiem is exactly the kind of phrase a learner should expect.

Because the words have to match the case required by post.

The dictionary forms are:

• brevis = short
• requies = rest

But dictionary forms are usually nominative singular, and here the phrase is not nominative. Since post requires the accusative, both words change:

• brevis → brevem
• requies → requiem

Also, adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

So brevem matches requiem: both are feminine accusative singular.

Requiem is the accusative singular of requies, requiei, a feminine noun meaning rest.

This noun can look a little unusual because it is not a regular first- or second-declension noun. A learner may recognize requiem from the musical term Requiem, but in Latin grammar here it is simply a normal case form of requies.

In this sentence:

• requies = nominative singular, rest
• requiem = accusative singular, rest as the object of post

So post brevem requiem literally means after a short rest.

Because discipuli is nominative plural, and the nominative case is the usual case for the subject of a sentence.

Here:

• discipulus = student, pupil
• discipuli = students, pupils

Since scribunt means they write, we expect a plural subject, and discipuli fits perfectly.

So the structure is:

• discipuli = the students
• scribunt = write / are writing

Together: the students write

In theory, discipuli could be:

• nominative plural = students
• genitive singular = of the student

But in this sentence it must be nominative plural, because it clearly works as the subject of scribunt.

A genitive singular reading would not make good sense here. The verb scribunt needs a subject, and discipuli is the only word available to do that.

So in context, discipuli is definitely the students.

Scribunt is:

• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood
• third person plural

from the verb scribo, scribere, scripsi, scriptum = to write

So scribunt means:

• they write
• or they are writing

Latin present tense can often be translated either way in English, depending on context.

The ending -unt is a very important clue: it tells you the subject is they.

Because Latin often includes the subject noun even when the verb ending already shows the person and number.

So:

• scribunt by itself = they write
• discipuli scribunt = the students write

The noun is included to make clear who the they are.

Latin can leave out subject pronouns like they, he, or we much more easily than English can, because the verb ending already gives that information.

Celerius is a comparative adverb meaning more quickly, faster, or sometimes just rather quickly, depending on context.

It is related to the adjective celer, celeris, celere = quick.

The adverb system works like this:

• celeriter = quickly
• celerius = more quickly / faster
• celerrime = very quickly / most quickly

So in this sentence celerius scribunt means they write more quickly or they write faster.

Because the sentence is using the comparative form, not the basic adverb.

Compare:

• celeriter scribunt = they write quickly
• celerius scribunt = they write more quickly / faster

A native English speaker may expect an explicit comparison like faster than before, but Latin often leaves the second part unstated if it is obvious from context. Here the idea may simply be that after the rest, the students write faster.

It is an adverb here, because it describes the verb scribunt.

Ask the question:

• How do the students write?

Answer:

• celerius = more quickly / faster

If it were an adjective, it would describe a noun. But here it describes the action of writing, so it is adverbial.

Yes. Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because case endings show how the words function.

This sentence puts the time phrase first:

• Post brevem requiem = after a short rest

Then the subject:

• discipuli = the students

Then the adverb and verb:

• celerius scribunt = write faster

This is a very natural order, but Latin could rearrange the words for emphasis. For example:

• Discipuli post brevem requiem celerius scribunt
• Celerius discipuli post brevem requiem scribunt

These would still mean basically the same thing, though the emphasis might shift.

No. Scribere can be used without stating an object.

So scribunt can simply mean:

• they write
• they are writing

If Latin wanted to say what they are writing, it could add an object, such as:

• epistulas scribunt = they write letters
• versus scribunt = they write verses

But without an object, the sentence is still complete and perfectly normal.

Because adjectives often stand next to the nouns they modify, and very often they come before the noun.

So:

• brevem requiem = a short rest

Latin can place adjectives either before or after the noun, but keeping them together helps make the phrase easy to read. Here brevem immediately tells you something about requiem.

A learner should notice that even if the order changed, the agreement in case, number, and gender would still show the connection between the two words.