Servus dominum timet, sed veritatem tandem dicit.

Because their case endings show their jobs in the sentence.

• servus ends in -us, which here is nominative singular: the usual case for the subject
• dominum ends in -um, which here is accusative singular: the usual case for the direct object

So in Servus dominum timet, the grammar tells us:

• servus = the slave/servant does the action
• dominum = the master/lord receives the action

Latin often relies on endings like these much more than English does.

Because it is the direct object of dicit.

In sed veritatem tandem dicit, the thing being spoken is veritatem (the truth), so Latin puts it in the accusative case.

This is a very common pattern:

• dominum timet = he fears the master
• veritatem dicit = he tells/speaks the truth

So both dominum and veritatem are objects, which is why both appear in accusative forms.

Both are 3rd person singular present active indicative verbs.

• timet = he/she/it fears
• dicit = he/she/it says / tells

Why 3rd person singular?

Because the subject is servus, which is one person: the slave/servant.

The ending -t is a very important clue in Latin: it usually means he/she/it in the present tense.

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

So:

• servus can mean a slave, the slave, or sometimes just slave
• dominum can mean a master or the master
• veritatem can mean truth or the truth, depending on context

English forces you to choose an article, but Latin usually leaves that to context.

Yes, but not in the same way as in English.

English depends heavily on word order:

• The servant fears the master is different from
• The master fears the servant

Latin is more flexible because case endings show the roles.

So Servus dominum timet could also be rearranged in several ways, such as:

• Dominum servus timet
• Timet servus dominum

These still mean basically the same thing, because:

• servus is still nominative
• dominum is still accusative

However, changing the order can change emphasis or style.

Because the verb ending already tells you there is a 3rd person singular subject, but the noun servus tells you who that subject is.

So:

• timet = he/she/it fears
• servus timet = the slave fears

Latin often leaves out subject pronouns like he or she, because the verb ending already contains that information. But if you want to identify the subject clearly, you use the noun.

Sed is a coordinating conjunction meaning but.

It joins two clauses:

• Servus dominum timet
• sed veritatem tandem dicit

So the sentence sets up a contrast:

• he fears the master,
• but he tells the truth in the end.

Sed does not change the case of any noun. It simply links the two ideas.

Tandem is an adverb meaning something like:

• at last
• finally
• in the end

Here it modifies dicit:

• veritatem tandem dicit = he finally tells the truth

Its position before the verb is very natural in Latin and gives a nice sense of timing or emphasis.

Because of normal English idiom.

Latin dicere often means to say or to speak, but in English we usually say:

• tell the truth not
• say the truth

So the Latin is grammatically straightforward, but the English translation should sound natural.

A very literal gloss might be:

• he says the truth

But idiomatic English prefers:

• he tells the truth

They come from different declensions:

• servus comes from servus, servi — 2nd declension masculine
• dominum comes from dominus, domini — 2nd declension masculine
• veritatem comes from veritas, veritatis — 3rd declension feminine

Their forms here are:

• servus = nominative singular
• dominum = accusative singular
• veritatem = accusative singular

This is a useful sentence because it shows both 2nd-declension and 3rd-declension accusatives.

In a common Classical Latin pronunciation, you could say it roughly like this:

• SEHR-woos DOH-mi-num TI-met, sed weh-ree-TAH-tem TAN-dem DI-kit

A few helpful points:

• v is pronounced like English w
• c is always hard, like k
• i is usually like ee in machine or shorter depending on quantity
• e is like e in they but without the glide

So:

• servus sounds roughly like sehr-woos
• dicit sounds like di-kit, not di-sit

It can mean either, depending on context, but very often in Roman contexts it means slave.

Similarly:

• dominus often means master or owner

So the pair servus ... dominum strongly suggests a social relationship of slave and master.

In some beginner materials, servus may be glossed as servant because that feels less harsh in English, but historically slave is often more accurate.