Magistra dicit artem bene scribendi usu paulatim crescere.

The teacher says that the skill of writing well grows gradually through practice.

Breakdown of Magistra dicit artem bene scribendi usu paulatim crescere.

• scribere: to write
• magistra: the female teacher
• dicere: to say
• bene: well

Questions & Answers about Magistra dicit artem bene scribendi usu paulatim crescere.

Why is artem in the accusative, even though it seems to be the thing that grows?

Because after dicit (says), Latin often uses an indirect statement construction:

• verb of saying/thinking/perceiving
• • accusative subject
• • infinitive verb

So in Magistra dicit artem ... crescere, the word artem is the subject of crescere, but in an indirect statement the subject goes into the accusative, not the nominative.

So:

• direct idea: ars ... crescit = the art/skill grows
• reported after dicit: artem ... crescere = that the art/skill grows

Why is crescere an infinitive instead of a normal finite verb like crescit?

For the same reason: this is an indirect statement.

After verbs like dicit, Latin usually does not use a separate word for that plus a finite verb. Instead it uses:

• accusative + infinitive

So:

• English: The teacher says that the skill increases
• Latin: Magistra dicit artem crescere

Here crescere is the infinitive meaning to grow / to increase, but in this construction it functions as the verb of the reported statement.