Lictor ante praetorem stat et fasces gerit.

Because lictor is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject in Latin.

Here the two verbs are stat (stands) and gerit (carries / bears), and both are third-person singular, so they match a single singular subject: lictor.

So the basic structure is:

• lictor = the subject
• stat = stands
• gerit = carries

Latin often shows who is doing the action by the case ending, not by word order alone.

Because ante takes the accusative case.

In this sentence, ante praetorem means in front of the praetor. The preposition ante is one of those Latin prepositions that regularly govern the accusative.

So:

• ante = before / in front of
• praetorem = accusative singular of praetor

Even though in English the praetor might not look specially marked, Latin marks it with the accusative because it follows ante.

Here it means in front of in a spatial sense.

The phrase ante praetorem stat describes where the lictor is standing, so the meaning is physical position: the lictor stands in front of the praetor.

Latin ante can also mean before in time, but the verb stat makes the spatial meaning the natural one here.

Because fasces is normally a plural noun in Latin when it refers to the bundle of rods carried as a symbol of authority.

So even if English might sometimes explain it as one symbolic object, Latin treats it as plural:

• fasces = bundles of rods / the fasces

In this sentence, fasces is the direct object of gerit, so it is accusative plural. Conveniently, the nominative plural and accusative plural have the same form here: fasces.

It actually is the object, but in this noun the nominative plural and accusative plural happen to look the same.

That is very common in Latin. You identify the function from the sentence:

• gerit needs a direct object
• fasces is what the lictor carries
• therefore fasces is accusative plural here

So the form does not change, but the grammatical role is still clear from context and syntax.

Because Latin does not need to repeat the subject if it stays the same.

The sentence means:

• The lictor stands in front of the praetor
• and carries the fasces

The subject lictor applies to both verbs. Latin often does this very neatly:

• Lictor ... stat et gerit
• literally: The lictor ... stands and carries

English does the same thing: we do not normally say The lictor stands and the lictor carries unless we want special emphasis.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

English depends heavily on position:

• The lictor stands in front of the praetor

Latin depends more on endings:

• lictor is nominative
• praetorem is accusative after ante
• fasces is the object of gerit

So Latin can place words in different orders for style, emphasis, or rhythm. This sentence is quite natural and straightforward, but other orders would also be possible, such as:

• Ante praetorem lictor stat et fasces gerit

That would still mean the same thing overall.

Classical Latin has no articles like English the and a/an.

So lictor can mean:

• a lictor
• the lictor

And praetorem can mean:

• a praetor
• the praetor

You decide from the context which English translation is best. In a sentence like this, English usually says the lictor and the praetor, but Latin itself does not include separate words for those articles.

They are both present tense, third-person singular, active voice.

More specifically:

• stat = he/she/it stands
• gerit = he/she/it carries / bears

Because the subject is lictor, we translate them as:

• the lictor stands
• the lictor carries

This is a simple present statement of what the lictor does.

A learner would usually look them up like this:

• lictor → lictor, lictoris (masculine noun)
• ante → ante (preposition)
• praetorem → praetor, praetoris (masculine noun)
• stat → sto, stare, steti (verb)
• et → et (conjunction)
• fasces → fascis, fascis in ordinary morphology, but in the political/ceremonial sense fasces is commonly used in the plural
• gerit → gero, gerere, gessi, gestum (verb)

Looking up the dictionary form helps you identify the declension or conjugation and understand why the form in the sentence looks the way it does.

A simple Classical pronunciation would be roughly:

LIK-tor AN-teh prai-TO-rem stat et FAS-kays GE-rit

A few helpful points:

• c is always hard, so lictor has a k sound
• ae in praetorem is like ai in aisle (in reconstructed Classical pronunciation)
• g in gerit is always hard, as in get
• v does not appear here, but in Classical Latin it is pronounced like w

If you are using an ecclesiastical pronunciation system, some sounds would differ, but the grammar of the sentence stays the same.

Because gero can mean carry, bear, or wear/carry as an emblem, which suits fasces very well.

A lictor is not just physically transporting random objects; he is carrying an official symbol of authority. So gerit is a very appropriate verb.

In other words, fasces gerit is not only he carries the fasces, but also suggests he bears them in his official role.