Misericordia sine iustitia interdum iniqua videtur.

The subject is misericordia.

It is nominative singular feminine, and that is why the rest of the sentence is built around it. In other words, the sentence is talking about mercy and then saying something about it.

A learner will often recognize this because:

• misericordia is a 1st-declension noun
• the ending -a here is nominative singular
• it matches the adjective iniqua, which is also feminine singular nominative

Because sine takes the ablative.

So:

• sine = without
• iustitia = ablative singular of iustitia

This is a very standard Latin construction:

• sine amico = without a friend
• sine cura = without care
• sine iustitia = without justice

So the case is not chosen freely here; the preposition sine requires it.

It is a prepositional phrase modifying the idea of misericordia.

It tells you under what condition or in what respect the mercy is being considered: mercy without justice.

So the basic structure is:

• misericordia = the subject
• sine iustitia = a phrase attached to that subject
• iniqua videtur = seems unjust

Because iniqua is a predicate adjective, not a direct object.

With verbs like videtur (seems), Latin uses a predicate adjective that agrees with the subject. Since misericordia is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective must also be:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So:

• misericordia ... iniqua videtur

not:

• misericordia ... iniquam videtur

The accusative iniquam would be wrong here because there is no direct object.

Because it agrees with misericordia, which is feminine.

In Latin, adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe or complement in:

• gender
• number
• case

So here:

• misericordia = feminine singular nominative
• iniqua = feminine singular nominative

That agreement shows that iniqua is saying something about misericordia.

Videtur is the 3rd person singular present passive of video.

Literally, it can mean is seen, but in sentences like this it very often means seems or appears.

So:

• iniqua videtur = seems unjust

This is a very common Latin usage. English usually does not say mercy is seen unjust in this context, so seems unjust is the natural translation.

Yes.

Here videtur works much like a linking verb, connecting the subject misericordia with the predicate adjective iniqua.

So the structure is similar to:

• misericordia iniqua est = mercy is unjust
• misericordia iniqua videtur = mercy seems unjust

The difference is that videtur adds the idea of appearance or impression rather than a flat statement of fact.

Interdum is an adverb.

It means sometimes, at times, or occasionally, and it modifies videtur: it tells you how often the statement is true or perceived to be true.

So:

• interdum videtur = sometimes seems

Yes, it could go somewhere else.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because the endings show the grammatical relationships. Interdum is placed here in a natural and readable position, but other arrangements are possible, for example:

• Interdum misericordia sine iustitia iniqua videtur.
• Misericordia interdum sine iustitia iniqua videtur.

These all mean essentially the same thing, though the emphasis may shift slightly.

Because Latin has no articles.

Latin does not have separate words for the, a, or an. Whether a noun should be understood as definite or indefinite depends on context.

So misericordia could be understood as:

• mercy
• the mercy
• a kind of mercy

depending on the context and the translator’s choice.

The same is true of iustitia.

Yes, to a large extent.

Because Latin uses case endings, the roles of the words are already clear:

• misericordia = subject
• iustitia = ablative after sine
• iniqua = predicate adjective agreeing with misericordia
• videtur = main verb

So several word orders are possible, such as:

• Interdum misericordia sine iustitia iniqua videtur.
• Misericordia iniqua interdum sine iustitia videtur.
• Sine iustitia misericordia interdum iniqua videtur.

The meaning stays basically the same, though the emphasis or style may change.

Yes.

The singular verb videtur agrees with the singular subject misericordia, but the sentence can still express a general truth or general observation.

Latin often uses a singular abstract noun this way:

• misericordia = mercy, as a concept
• iustitia = justice, as a concept

So the sentence is not about one specific act of mercy unless the context says so; it can be a broad statement about mercy in general.