Soror prudentior est quam frater, quia antequam respondeat semper rem totam audit.

Prudentior is the comparative form of prudens (wise, prudent).

So:

• prudens = wise
• prudentior = wiser

It agrees with soror (sister), so it is feminine nominative singular here.

Latin often forms comparatives with -ior for masculine/feminine and -ius for neuter.
Because soror is the subject, prudentior is in the nominative too.

Quam means than in comparisons.

So:

• prudentior ... quam frater = wiser than her brother

In this sentence, frater is in the nominative, matching the structure of the comparison:
Soror prudentior est quam frater literally means something like The sister is wiser than the brother is.

Latin can also compare in another way, using the ablative of comparison without quam, but that usually happens when the thing compared is in the same case as the first term. Here the sentence uses the very common quam + nominative pattern.

Yes, Latin can sometimes omit forms of esse (to be) when the meaning is obvious, especially in poetry or very compressed style. But in ordinary prose, est is perfectly normal and often clearer.

So:

• Soror prudentior est quam frater = a straightforward prose sentence
• without est, the sentence would still be possible in some contexts, but less standard for a learner

Including est helps make the comparison explicit.

Quia means because. It introduces the reason for the first statement.

Structure:

• Soror prudentior est quam frater = the main statement
• quia ... audit = the reason why that statement is true

So the sentence says she is wiser because she has the habit described afterward.

Antequam means before or more literally before than. It introduces a clause telling us what happens earlier than something else.

Here:

• antequam respondeat = before she answers

So the order of ideas is:

1. she listens to the whole matter
2. then she answers

This is a very common learner question.

Respondeat is present subjunctive, from respondere (to answer).

After antequam, Latin can use either the indicative or the subjunctive, depending on how the action is viewed. Here the subjunctive fits because the sentence describes a general habit or a repeatedly anticipated action:

• she always listens to the whole matter
• before she answers

The answering is not being presented as one specific factual event; it is the action that is expected to come next whenever this situation happens. In that kind of context, Latin often uses the subjunctive.

So a helpful way to understand it is:

• before she answers / before she is going to answer

Not every grammar explains this in exactly the same way, but for a learner, the key point is:
antequam + subjunctive often appears when the subordinate action is viewed as anticipated, general, or not yet an accomplished fact.

Respondeat is third person singular present subjunctive active.

Breaking it down:

• respond- = the verb stem
• -ea- = part of the present subjunctive formation in the 2nd conjugation
• -t = he/she/it

Since the subject is soror, it means:

• she may answer
• or in smoother English here, simply she answers

Latin usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person and number.

Both verbs here are third person singular:

• respondeat = she answers / she may answer
• audit = she hears / listens

The subject is understood from the context as soror.

Latin uses pronouns like ea or illa only when needed for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

Rem totam means the whole matter or the entire thing.

• rem is the accusative singular of res (thing, matter, affair)
• totam is the accusative singular feminine of totus (whole, entire)

They are both accusative because audit takes a direct object. She is listening to the whole matter.

So:

• res = thing, matter
• rem = the thing / the matter, as object
• totam agrees with rem in gender, number, and case

Both rem totam and totam rem are possible in Latin. Word order is more flexible than in English.

Here, rem totam puts rem first and then adds totam to complete the idea: the matter in its entirety.
If the sentence had totam rem, that might put slightly more emphasis on whole from the start.

In many cases, the difference is small. Latin word order often reflects emphasis, rhythm, or style more than strict grammatical necessity.

The basic meaning of audit is he/she hears from audire. But in context it often has the broader sense listen to.

So here semper rem totam audit is better understood as:

• she always listens to the whole matter
• or she always hears the whole story out

That is more natural English, even though the Latin verb itself is simply hear.

Semper means always, and its placement helps show that this is a habitual action.

• semper rem totam audit = she always listens to the whole matter

Latin adverbs are fairly flexible in position, but they are often placed near the part of the sentence they modify. Here semper naturally goes with the whole verbal idea.

Its position also supports the idea that the sentence is about a general character trait, not a one-time event.

The sentence has a main clause and a reason clause, and inside the reason clause there is a time clause.

1. Main clause:
   Soror prudentior est quam frater
   = The sister is wiser than the brother

2. Reason clause with quia:
   quia ... audit
   = because ... she listens

3. Time clause inside it:
   antequam respondeat
   = before she answers

So the full structure is:

• She is wiser than her brother
• because
• before she answers
• she always listens to the whole matter

That layered structure is very normal in Latin prose.

Yes, two things stand out:

1. Comparative expression
   Latin says prudentior ... quam frater, literally wiser than the brother. English usually adds is in our mental expansion:
   wiser than the brother is.

2. General/habitual action with the subjunctive
   English simply says before she answers, but Latin can use antequam + subjunctive to express a repeated or anticipated action. That is more grammatical information than English usually shows.

So even if the meaning is simple, the Latin sentence teaches two important patterns:

• comparison with quam
• time clause with antequam + subjunctive