Molitor molam novam celerius vertit, quia ex frumento bonam farinam facere vult.

Because molitor is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject in Latin. It means the miller.

So in:

Molitor molam novam celerius vertit

the person doing the action is molitor.

Molam is the direct object of vertit. It is the thing being turned.

• mola = mill, millstone
• molam = the mill / millstone as the object of the verb

So the structure is:

• molitor = subject
• vertit = turns
• molam = object

In other words, the miller turns the millstone.

Because novam is an adjective describing molam, and Latin adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

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

That is why Latin says:

molam novam = a new millstone / the new millstone

Latin word order is much freer than English word order. An adjective can come before or after its noun.

So both of these are possible in Latin:

• novam molam
• molam novam

They mean essentially the same thing. The choice often depends on style, emphasis, or rhythm rather than a strict rule like in English.

Celerius is the comparative adverb of celeriter.

• celeriter = quickly
• celerius = more quickly

So the sentence means the miller turns the millstone more quickly, not just quickly.

A learner might wonder, more quickly than what? Latin does not always state the comparison explicitly. It may mean:

• more quickly than before
• more quickly than usual
• more quickly than someone else

The comparison is understood from context.

This is a very good question, because vertit can look the same in both tenses:

• present: he turns
• perfect: he turned / has turned

In this sentence, it is most naturally understood as present: he turns.

Why?

Because the sentence also has vult = he wants, which is clearly present, and the whole sentence sounds like a general or ongoing situation:

The miller turns the new millstone more quickly because he wants...

So here vertit is best taken as present indicative active, 3rd person singular.

Quia means because and introduces a clause giving a reason.

So:

quia ex frumento bonam farinam facere vult

means:

because he wants to make good flour from grain

This explains why the miller turns the millstone more quickly.

Because it follows the preposition ex, which takes the ablative.

• ex = out of, from
• frumentum = grain
• ex frumento = from grain / out of grain

So frumento is ablative singular because the preposition requires it.

They refer to different stages of the material:

• frumentum = grain
• farina = flour

So the idea is:

the miller wants to make good flour (bonam farinam) from grain (ex frumento).

This is why both words appear in the sentence: one is the raw material, and the other is the product.

Because bonam farinam is the object of the infinitive facere.

The phrase is:

bonam farinam facere = to make good flour

Here:

• farinam is the noun
• bonam is the adjective agreeing with it

Both are feminine singular accusative, because they function together as the object of facere.

After verbs like vult (he wants), Latin normally uses an infinitive to express what someone wants to do.

So:

• vult facere = he wants to make

This is similar to English:

• he wants to make

not:

• he wants he makes

So facere is the infinitive, and it completes the meaning of vult.

The subject is still the same person: molitor, the miller.

Latin often does not repeat the subject when it is already clear. So:

quia ex frumento bonam farinam facere vult

means:

because he wants to make good flour from grain

where he refers back to molitor.

It can mean millstone, and by extension sometimes mill. In this sentence, millstone is probably the most concrete sense, since something is being turned.

So molam vertit suggests:

• he turns the millstone
• or more generally, he operates the mill

Depending on the translation already given to the learner, either may be acceptable, but millstone is often the more literal sense.

Classical Latin has no articles like English the or a/an.

So:

• molitor can mean the miller or a miller
• molam novam can mean the new millstone or a new millstone
• bonam farinam can mean good flour, the good flour, or some good flour

The exact choice in English depends on context and natural translation.

A helpful way to see it is:

• Molitor = subject
• molam novam = object
• celerius = adverb
• vertit = main verb
• quia ... vult = reason clause

So the sentence is roughly:

The miller turns the new millstone more quickly, because he wants to make good flour from grain.

Latin often places the verb later than English does, and it often puts important information near the end of a clause. That is why vertit and especially vult appear where they do.