Sutor dicit se bonas soleas facere posse, dummodo pretium antea solvatur.

Because this is an indirect statement after dicit.

In Latin, after verbs like dicit (he says), the subject of the reported statement usually goes into the accusative, and the verb goes into an infinitive:

• dicit se posse = he says that he is able

Here se is a reflexive pronoun, referring back to the subject of the main verb, sutor. So:

• Sutor dicit se... posse = The shoemaker says that he... can...

If Latin used eum instead, it would normally mean he says that another man can do it, not himself.

Again, this is because of the indirect statement construction.

After dicit, Latin does not usually say something like dicit quod potest in this kind of sentence. Instead it prefers:

• subject in the accusative
  • infinitive

So:

• se ... posse = that he can

This is one of the most important Latin patterns to learn. English often uses that, but Latin often uses accusative + infinitive instead.

Because posse means to be able, and it naturally takes another infinitive with it.

So:

• posse = to be able
• facere = to make

Together:

• facere posse = to be able to make

Inside the indirect statement, the whole idea is:

• se bonas soleas facere posse = that he can make good sandals

So posse is the main infinitive of the indirect statement, and facere depends on it.

Because soleas is the direct object of facere.

• facere = to make
• what is he making? soleas = sandals

So soleas must be accusative.

The adjective bonas also has to be accusative plural feminine to agree with soleas:

• bonas soleas = good sandals

Because it agrees with soleas.

The noun solea, soleae is feminine, and here it is plural accusative:

• nominative singular: solea
• accusative plural: soleas

So the adjective must match it in gender, number, and case:

• bonas soleas

That is standard Latin adjective agreement.

Dummodo means provided that, so long as, or as long as.

It introduces a condition or proviso:

• dummodo pretium antea solvatur = provided that the price is paid beforehand

It is not just a simple time word like while here. It sets a requirement: the shoemaker can do it, but only on that condition.

Because dummodo commonly takes the subjunctive when it means provided that.

So in a proviso clause like this, Latin normally uses:

• dummodo
  • subjunctive

That is why we get:

• solvatur rather than solvitur

The idea is not simply stating a plain fact; it is expressing a condition that must be met.

Because the sentence focuses on the price being paid, not on who pays it.

• solvit = pays
• solvitur / solvatur = is paid / be paid

So:

• pretium antea solvatur = the price be paid in advance / the price is paid beforehand

Latin often uses the passive when the agent is unimportant or obvious from context. Here it does not matter who pays; what matters is that the payment happens first.

Because pretium means price, and in this sentence it refers to the price for the job as a whole, not multiple separate prices.

Latin often uses the singular in such cases:

• pretium = the price
• pretium solvatur = the price is paid

Even though English might sometimes say payment or the money, Latin here uses the singular noun pretium very naturally.

Antea means beforehand, previously, or in advance.

It tells us when the price must be paid:

• not later
• not after the sandals are made
• but before the work

So:

• pretium antea solvatur = the price be paid in advance

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because Latin shows grammatical relationships mainly through endings, not position.

So Latin can say:

• Sutor dicit se bonas soleas facere posse

instead of forcing the English order The shoemaker says that he can make good sandals.

Also, Latin often places important or closely connected words in ways that feel natural to Latin style rather than English style. For example:

• se ... posse neatly frames the indirect statement
• bonas soleas stays together as adjective + noun
• dummodo introduces the condition at once

So the order may feel unusual, but the endings make the grammar clear.

In normal classical Latin, after a verb of saying like dicit, the regular construction is the accusative + infinitive:

• dicit se posse

That is the standard way to say he says that he can.

A clause with quod is much less standard for this kind of straightforward reported statement in classical prose, and ut would not be used here for ordinary indirect statement.

So for a learner, the important rule is:

• after dico, puto, audio, scio, and many similar verbs,
• expect accusative + infinitive

It does both.

First, sutor is the grammatical subject of dicit:

• Sutor dicit = The shoemaker says

Second, it is also the noun that se refers back to. Since se is reflexive, it points back to the subject of the main clause:

• sutor ... se = the shoemaker ... himself

So the full structure is:

• Sutor = the person speaking
• dicit = says
• se ... posse = that he himself can

That reflexive relationship is essential to understanding the sentence correctly.