Iudex hodie severior est quam heri, quia reus mendacium dicit.

Severior is the comparative form of severus, meaning more severe or stricter.

So:

• severus = severe / strict
• severior = more severe / stricter

Because the sentence is comparing today with yesterday, Latin uses the comparative:

• Iudex hodie severior est quam heri = The judge is stricter today than yesterday

Quam means than in comparisons.

Heri is an adverb meaning yesterday, so it does not change case. It is not a noun here, and adverbs do not decline.

So:

• severior ... quam heri = more severe than yesterday

Latin is comparing the judge’s severity today with how severe he was yesterday. English does the same kind of thing with an adverb:

• stricter than yesterday

They are in different cases because they have different jobs in the sentence:

• iudex = nominative singular

  • It is the subject of est
  • The judge

• reus = nominative singular

  • It is the subject of dicit
  • The defendant

• mendacium = accusative singular

  • It is the direct object of dicit
  • a lie / falsehood

So the structure is:

• Iudex ... est = The judge ... is
• quia reus mendacium dicit = because the defendant tells a lie

Because dicit is a transitive verb here, and the thing being said is its direct object.

• dico = I say / I speak / I tell
• mendacium dicit = he tells a lie

In Latin, the direct object normally goes in the accusative, so mendacium is accusative singular.

Latin has much freer word order than English because the endings show the grammatical roles.

English depends heavily on word order:

• The defendant tells a lie

Latin can move words around more easily because:

• reus is nominative, so it is the subject
• mendacium is accusative, so it is the object

So reus mendacium dicit is the most straightforward order here, but Latin could also rearrange it for emphasis, for example:

• mendacium reus dicit
• dicit reus mendacium

The basic meaning would stay the same, though the emphasis might shift.

Latin often places words where they sound natural or where the writer wants emphasis.

Here:

• hodie comes early, drawing attention to today
• heri comes right after quam, which is very normal in a comparison

So:

• hodie severior est quam heri feels natural and clear
• It highlights the contrast between today and yesterday

Latin word order is often about style and emphasis, not just grammar.

Sometimes Latin can omit a form of to be, especially in short sayings or very compressed style, but in a normal teaching sentence like this, est is perfectly natural and expected.

So:

• Iudex hodie severior est quam heri = fully expressed
• A more compressed omission of est is possible in some contexts, but beginners should usually expect to see it

Including est makes the sentence clearer.

Quia means because, and here it introduces a straightforward statement of fact or reason:

• because the defendant tells a lie

So Latin uses the indicative:

• dicit = he says / he tells

This is the normal construction for a simple causal clause with quia.

Dicit is present tense because the sentence presents the defendant’s lying as the reason for the judge’s current severity.

• iudex ... est = the judge is stricter now
• reus mendacium dicit = the defendant is telling a lie / tells a lie

Latin present tense can often be translated in English either as:

• tells a lie
• is telling a lie

depending on the context.

Yes. Latin also has the deponent verb mentitur, meaning he lies.

So a sentence could also say:

• quia reus mentitur = because the defendant is lying

But mendacium dicit is also a perfectly understandable Latin way to express the idea:

• literally, the defendant says a lie
• naturally, the defendant tells a lie

A learner should recognize both patterns.

Severior is a comparative adjective, and it agrees with iudex in case, number, and gender.

Here it is:

• nominative singular
• agreeing with iudex

Because iudex is the subject, the predicate adjective must match it:

• Iudex ... severior est = The judge is stricter

Comparative adjectives in Latin belong to the third declension, which is why severior does not look like a regular first-and-second-declension adjective such as severus.