Breakdown of Magistra discipulis rationem clare explicat.
Questions & Answers about Magistra discipulis rationem clare explicat.
Because magistra is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject.
- magistra = female teacher
- nominative singular ending: -a for this first-declension noun
So magistra is the teacher who is doing the action of explaining.
Also, magistra is specifically feminine. A male teacher would be magister.
Discipulis is in the dative plural because it shows the indirect object: the people to whom something is explained.
Here the teacher explains something to the students, so Latin uses the dative:
- discipulis = to the students / for the students
This is very common with verbs of giving, telling, showing, and explaining.
Because rationem is the direct object: it is the thing being explained.
- ratio, rationis is a third-declension noun
- rationem is its accusative singular form
So:
- magistra = the subject, the one doing the action