Hoc onus levius est quam illud, et puella ipsa id tollere potest.

Because they refer to onus, and onus is a neuter noun.

In Latin, demonstratives like hic, haec, hoc and ille, illa, illud must agree with the noun they refer to in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• hoc onus = this burden
• illud = that one / that burden

Both are neuter singular because onus is neuter singular.

Onus is nominative singular.

You can tell because it is the subject of est:

• Hoc onus levius est = This burden is lighter

So the thing that is lighter is onus, which makes it the subject.

A learner may also want to note that onus is a third-declension neuter noun. Its dictionary forms are:

• onus, oneris

So the stem is oner-, even though the nominative is onus.

Because levius is the comparative form: lighter.

• levis = light
• levius = lighter

Since onus is neuter singular nominative, the comparative adjective also appears in the neuter singular nominative form:

• masculine/feminine comparative: levior
• neuter comparative: levius

So:

• hoc onus leve est = this burden is light
• hoc onus levius est = this burden is lighter

This is the normal Latin way to make an explicit comparison:

• levius est quam illud = is lighter than that

After quam, Latin usually puts the thing being compared in the same case as the first item.

Here the first item is:

• hoc onus — nominative

So the second item is also effectively nominative:

• illud = that one / that burden

You can think of it as short for:

• Hoc onus levius est quam illud onus.

Latin often leaves out the repeated noun when it is obvious.

Because the meaning is clear from context.

Latin very often avoids repeating a noun if a pronoun or adjective can stand in for it. So:

• illud here means that one, that is, that burden

English does the same thing sometimes:

• This burden is lighter than that one

So illud is not vague here; it clearly points back to onus.

Ipsa adds emphasis. It means herself in the sense of the girl herself or the girl in person.

So:

• puella = the girl
• puella ipsa = the girl herself

This is the intensive pronoun ipse, ipsa, ipsum. It agrees with puella:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

It does not mean a reflexive object here. It is simply emphasizing the subject.

Id is the neuter singular accusative form of is, ea, id, and here it means it.

It refers back to onus, so it is neuter singular.

It is accusative because it is the direct object of tollere:

• id tollere = to lift it

A useful contrast is:

• hoc / illud often point something out more strongly: this / that
• id often refers back more quietly to something already mentioned: it

So after introducing onus, Latin naturally uses id to mean it.

Because potest is followed by an infinitive.

Latin uses the same pattern English does:

• can lift
• potest tollere

Here:

• potest = is able / can
• tollere = to lift

So the structure is:

• puella ipsa id tollere potest = the girl herself can lift it

The subject of both verbs is the same person, puella.

Potest is:

• third person singular
• present tense
• from possum, posse

It means is able or can.

So puella ... potest means:

• the girl can ...

Because the subject is singular (puella), the verb is singular (potest).

The word order is flexible, but it still helps show emphasis and flow.

Latin does not rely on word order as strictly as English, because the endings already show the grammar. So these are all possible in principle:

• puella ipsa id tollere potest
• puella ipsa potest id tollere
• id puella ipsa tollere potest

The given order is natural because:

• puella ipsa introduces the subject with emphasis
• id comes before the infinitive it belongs with
• potest comes at the end, which is very common in Latin

So the order is not random, but it is also not as rigid as in English.

No. That is a very common point of confusion.

• ipsa is intensive: herself, meaning the girl herself
• se is reflexive: herself, meaning the person is the object of the action

In this sentence:

• puella ipsa = the girl herself

But if the sentence meant the girl lifts herself, Latin would use se, not ipsa, as the object.

So here ipsa is emphasizing who can do the lifting, not acting as the object of the verb.