Una discipula rogat utrum omnis magistratus suffragio fiat an quidam alio modo fiant.

It can suggest either idea, depending on context.

Latin has no true indefinite article like English a or an, so una discipula literally means one female student, but in many contexts that naturally comes across as a student.

Here, una may do one of two things:

• simply introduce a student
• emphasize that it is one particular student

So a learner should recognize that una is the feminine nominative singular form of unus, agreeing with discipula.

utrum ... an ... is a standard Latin way to say whether ... or ...

So:

• utrum omnis magistratus suffragio fiat = whether every magistrate is chosen by vote
• an quidam alio modo fiant = or whether some are chosen in another way

This construction is very common in direct and indirect questions. English often uses just whether ... or ..., but Latin often marks both sides explicitly with utrum and an.

They are subjunctive because this is an indirect question after rogat (asks).

A direct question would be something like:

• Omnisne magistratus suffragio fit, an quidam alio modo fiunt? = Is every magistrate chosen by vote, or are some chosen in another way?

But once the question is reported after rogat, Latin normally uses the subjunctive:

• rogat utrum ... fiat an ... fiant

So:

• fiat = present subjunctive, singular
• fiant = present subjunctive, plural

This is one of the most important uses of the Latin subjunctive.

They come from fio, fieri, factus sum, which means to become or to be made / to happen.

Forms here:

• fiat = may be made / is made (subjunctive singular)
• fiant = may be made / are made (subjunctive plural)

In this sentence, fio has a sense like be made, be appointed, be elected, come into office.

That is why the English meaning may sound more natural as is chosen or is elected, even though Latin literally uses be made.

Because omnis magistratus means every magistrate, while omnes magistratus would mean all magistrates.

That is an important difference:

• omnis magistratus = each magistrate, every magistrate individually
• omnes magistratus = all magistrates as a group

Here the singular verb fiat matches omnis magistratus, so the grammar confirms that Latin means every magistrate.

Also note that magistratus is a fourth-declension noun, so its nominative singular is magistratus.

Here it is singular.

That can be confusing, because fourth-declension nouns often have forms that look the same in singular and plural. But the clues are:

• omnis is singular
• fiat is singular

So omnis magistratus suffragio fiat must mean every magistrate is chosen by vote.

Later, quidam ... fiant is plural, so there the idea is some [magistrates] are chosen in another way.

suffragio is ablative singular of suffragium, meaning vote, voting, or ballot.

In this sentence it is an ablative of means/instrument:

• suffragio fiat = is made/chosen by vote

So Latin is expressing the means by which the magistrate is chosen.

A very literal translation would be is made by means of a vote. More natural English is is elected by vote or is chosen by ballot.

alio modo means in another way or by another method.

Both words are ablative singular:

• alio = another, ablative singular of alius
• modo = way, manner, ablative singular of modus

This is a common Latin expression using the ablative to show manner or means.

So:

• quidam alio modo fiant = some are made/chosen in another way

Here quidam means some.

More exactly, quidam, quaedam, quoddam/quiddam can mean things like:

• a certain
• some
• some particular

In this sentence, quidam is plural in sense: some [magistrates].

Latin often leaves the noun understood when it is obvious from context. So quidam here stands for something like:

• quidam magistratus = some magistrates

Since the verb is plural (fiant), we know quidam is plural here.

Because Latin often omits a noun when it is easy to understand from context.

After omnis magistratus, the listener already knows the topic is magistrates, so Latin can simply say:

• an quidam alio modo fiant = or whether some are chosen in another way

English does the same sometimes:

• Some are elected, others are appointed

We do not need to repeat magistrates if the meaning is already clear.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Una discipula rogat = A student asks
• utrum omnis magistratus suffragio fiat = whether every magistrate is chosen by vote
• an quidam alio modo fiant = or whether some are chosen in another way

So the core pattern is:

• main verb: rogat
• indirect question introduced by utrum ... an
• subjunctive verbs inside the indirect question: fiat, fiant

This is a very typical Latin sentence pattern: verb of asking + indirect question + subjunctive

Yes. Rogo, rogare can mean:

• ask
• ask for
• inquire
• sometimes even ask someone to do something

Here, because it is followed by utrum ... an ..., it clearly means asks in the sense of inquires whether.

So the sentence is not asking for an object; it is asking a question.

The word order is fairly natural Latin, but Latin word order is much freer than English.

A few things to notice:

• Una discipula comes first to introduce the subject.
• rogat appears early, so we quickly know this is a sentence about asking.
• utrum ... an ... clearly marks the two alternatives.
• suffragio and alio modo are placed near their verbs, which helps show the contrast:
  • by vote
  • in another way

Latin relies more on endings than on fixed word order, so the sense remains clear even if the order changes. But this arrangement is neat and easy to follow.