Pistrinum contra macellum stat, et mater ibi panem recentem emit.

Because pistrinum is a neuter second-declension noun.

For neuter nouns of this type:

• nominative singular = -um
• accusative singular = -um

So pistrinum can be either nominative or accusative in form. Here it is nominative because it is the thing that stat applies to:

• pistrinum ... stat = the bakery stands / is located

So the meaning and sentence structure show that pistrinum is the subject.

Because macellum is governed by contra.

In this sentence, contra is a preposition meaning:

• opposite
• across from

And contra takes the accusative case, so:

• contra macellum = opposite the market

That means macellum is part of the prepositional phrase, not the subject of stat.

Here contra means opposite or across from in a locational sense.

So:

• Pistrinum contra macellum stat = The bakery stands opposite the market

In other contexts, contra can also mean against, but here it is clearly about position, not opposition or conflict.

It literally means stands, from stare.

But with buildings and places, Latin often uses stare the way English uses:

• stands
• is situated
• is located

So in this sentence, stat is very naturally understood as is located or stands.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

English usually needs something like:

• The bakery stands opposite the market

Latin can arrange the words more freely because the endings show their roles. A very common Latin pattern is to put the verb near the end:

• Pistrinum contra macellum stat

That sounds normal in Latin and gives a neat finish to the clause.

Because Classical Latin has no definite article and no indefinite article.

So Latin does not have separate words for:

• the
• a / an

A noun like mater can mean:

• mother
• the mother
• a mother

Context tells you which sense is intended.

Mater is nominative singular, and it is the subject of emit.

It looks different because it belongs to the third declension, not the second declension.

Its basic forms are:

• nominative singular: mater
• accusative singular: matrem

So here mater is the doer of the action:

• mater ... emit = mother buys

Ibi is an adverb meaning there.

It does not change for case, gender, or number. It simply points to a place already mentioned.

Here it most naturally refers to the location from the first clause, so the sense is:

• there, at that place
• most likely there at the bakery

Because panem recentem is a noun plus its adjective, and they must agree.

• panem = accusative singular masculine
• recentem = accusative singular masculine

This is because panem is the direct object of emit, and recentem describes panem, so it must match it in:

• case
• number
• gender

So:

• panem recentem = fresh bread

Because dictionary forms are usually given in the nominative singular, but adjectives change form to match the noun they describe.

The adjective is recens, meaning fresh. But here it modifies panem, which is:

• masculine
• singular
• accusative

So the adjective must also be:

• masculine
• singular
• accusative

That gives recentem.

In this sentence it is understood as present tense:

• emit = buys

But this is a very good question, because without macrons the written form emit can be ambiguous.

With macrons, the difference is:

• emit = present, buys
• ēmit = perfect, bought

Since you already know the meaning here, this sentence is using the present sense: the mother buys fresh bread there.

Yes. Both are possible.

Latin adjective placement is more flexible than English. So both of these can work:

• panem recentem
• recentem panem

The endings already show that the adjective belongs with the noun, so the order can vary. The version in your sentence is perfectly normal.