Discipula commentarium suum in mensa aperit et verba nova scribit.

Because discipula is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject of a finite verb in Latin.

Here, discipula means student in the feminine form, so it tells us who is doing the actions of aperit and scribit.

Yes. Discipula is the feminine form, so it means female student, schoolgirl, or woman student depending on context.

The masculine form would be discipulus.

Here commentarium is the direct object of aperit, so it is in the accusative singular.

It is a neuter second-declension noun:

• nominative singular: commentarium
• accusative singular: commentarium

Because it is neuter, the nominative and accusative singular look the same.

Because suum must agree with commentarium, not with discipula.

In Latin, a possessive adjective agrees with the noun possessed in:

• gender
• number
• case

Since commentarium is neuter singular accusative, the possessive must also be neuter singular accusative: suum.

So:

• discipula = feminine subject
• commentarium suum = her own notebook

Suum is a reflexive possessive, meaning it refers back to the subject of the clause.

So commentarium suum means her own notebook, where her refers to the student.

If the notebook belonged to some other female person, Latin would usually use eius instead:

• commentarium suum = her own notebook
• commentarium eius = her notebook, belonging to someone else

Because in can take two different cases depending on meaning:

• in + ablative = in / on a place, expressing location
• in + accusative = into / onto a place, expressing motion toward

Here the meaning is location: on the table, so Latin uses the ablative:

• in mensa = on the table

If the meaning were onto the table, it would be:

• in mensam

In this context it means on the table.

Latin in with the ablative can cover meanings that English separates into in and on. Context tells you which one sounds natural in English. Since someone opens a notebook and writes while it is resting on a table, on the table is the natural meaning.

Aperit is the third-person singular present active indicative of aperire, meaning to open.

Breaking it down:

• aper- = verb stem
• -it = he/she/it in the present tense for this conjugation

So aperit means:

• she opens
• or more literally he/she/it opens

Because the subject is discipula, we understand it as she opens.

Because the same subject, discipula, is still doing the action.

Latin often states the subject once and then continues with more verbs:

• Discipula ... aperit et ... scribit
• The student opens ... and writes ...

So both aperit and scribit have the same subject: discipula.

Because classical Latin has no articles.

That means Latin does not have separate words for:

• the
• a / an

So discipula could mean:

• the student
• a student

You decide from context which English translation fits best.

Both are possible in Latin.

Here verba nova means new words:

• verba = words
• nova = new

The adjective nova agrees with verba because both are:

• neuter
• plural
• accusative

Latin word order is more flexible than English because endings show grammatical function. So both verba nova and nova verba can be correct, though word order may create slight differences in emphasis.

Verba is the neuter plural accusative of verbum, meaning word.

Because it is the direct object of scribit, it is in the accusative. Since more than one word is being written, it is plural.

For a neuter noun like verbum:

• singular nominative/accusative: verbum
• plural nominative/accusative: verba

So verba means words.

Because nova is agreeing with verba, which is neuter plural accusative.

For first/second-declension adjectives like novus, nova, novum:

• masculine accusative plural: novos
• feminine accusative plural: novas
• neuter accusative plural: nova

Since verba is neuter plural, the adjective must be nova.

Et means and.

It links the two actions:

• aperit = opens
• scribit = writes

So the sentence describes one subject doing two things:

1. opening her notebook on the table
2. writing new words

It is a perfectly natural Latin word order, but Latin word order is much freer than English word order.

This sentence is roughly:

• Discipula = subject
• commentarium suum = object
• in mensa = prepositional phrase
• aperit = verb
• et verba nova scribit = and writes new words

Latin often places the verb later in the clause, but many other arrangements are possible because case endings show what each word is doing.

Yes, very often.

For example, these would still mean essentially the same thing:

• Discipula suum commentarium in mensa aperit et verba nova scribit.
• In mensa discipula commentarium suum aperit et verba nova scribit.
• Discipula verba nova scribit et commentarium suum in mensa aperit.

The exact emphasis may shift, but the case endings keep the grammar clear.

Because Latin, like English, does not need to repeat the subject when it is still the same.

Once the sentence begins with discipula, the reader understands that both verbs belong to that subject unless something changes.

So:

• Discipula ... aperit et ... scribit means
• The student opens ... and writes ...

Yes, in a classroom context commentarium can mean something like notebook, exercise book, or written notebook/journal.

The exact English word depends on context. Latin words often cover a wider range than one exact English equivalent, so a learner may see translations such as:

• notebook
• commentary
• journal
• notes

In this sentence, notebook is the most natural choice.

Because:

• commentarium is a noun
• suum is a possessive adjective
• they agree in gender, number, and case

That agreement signals that they belong together:

• commentarium = neuter singular accusative
• suum = neuter singular accusative

So they form one noun phrase: her own notebook.