Servus epistulam ab imperatore accipit.

Because servus is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject.

In this sentence, servus means the slave and is the one doing the action of receiving. A Latin learner often identifies the subject by its ending, not just by its position in the sentence.

• servus = nominative singular
• so it means the slave as subject

Because epistulam is in the accusative singular, which is the case used for the direct object.

The direct object is the thing being received. The slave receives a letter, so letter must be in the accusative.

• epistula = nominative singular, letter as subject
• epistulam = accusative singular, letter as direct object

So Latin uses the ending -am here to show that the letter is the object of accipit.

Because ab means from here, and it introduces the person from whom something is received.

So:

• ab = from
• imperatore = the emperor in the ablative case

Together, ab imperatore means from the emperor.

A useful thing to remember is that ab can also mean by in passive sentences, but in this active sentence with accipit it is understood as from.

Because ab takes the ablative case, and the ablative singular of imperator is imperatore.

So the forms are:

• imperator = nominative singular
• imperatorem = accusative singular
• imperatore = ablative singular

Since the phrase is ab imperatore, Latin requires the ablative form.

Accipit is the verb, and it means receives.

Its ending tells you several things:

• present tense = the action is happening now
• third person singular = he/she/it receives
• from the verb accipere = to receive

Because it is third person singular, it agrees with servus:

• servus ... accipit = the slave receives

Classical Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So servus can mean:

• the slave
• a slave

And epistulam can mean:

• the letter
• a letter

Which one sounds best depends on context and translation choice. English has to choose an article, but Latin usually does not state one.

Less than in English. Latin word order is relatively flexible because the endings show what each word is doing.

So these could all mean basically the same thing:

• Servus epistulam ab imperatore accipit.
• Epistulam servus ab imperatore accipit.
• Ab imperatore servus epistulam accipit.

The endings still show:

• servus = subject
• epistulam = direct object
• imperatore = object of ab

That said, word order can still add emphasis or style.

Because semantically it fits the idea of receiving: someone receives something from someone.

So the structure is:

• servus = subject
• epistulam = thing received
• ab imperatore = source
• accipit = receives

In other words, the slave receives the letter, and the emperor is the source of that letter.

They come from different declensions:

• servus is second declension
• epistula is first declension
• imperator is third declension

That is why their case endings look different:

• servus → nominative singular in -us
• epistulam → accusative singular in -am
• imperatore → ablative singular in -e

This is very common in Latin: different noun groups use different sets of endings.

A simple classroom pronunciation would be something like:

SER-woos eh-pis-TOO-lam ab im-pe-ra-TO-reh AK-ki-pit

A few helpful points:

• v is often pronounced like w in restored classical pronunciation
• c is always hard, like k
• so accipit sounds like ak-ki-pit, not assipit

If you are using an English-style classroom pronunciation, the exact sound may vary, but the grammar stays the same.