Quamquam tribunus magnam potestatem habet, dicit se sine auctoritate senatus nihil facere velle.

Quamquam means although and typically takes the indicative in Classical Latin when the speaker is presenting something as an actual fact. So quamquam tribunus magnam potestatem habet means although the tribune has great power.

If Latin wanted a more hypothetical or differently shaded concessive idea, it might use a different conjunction, such as cum or etsi, depending on context.

Tribunus is the subject of both main verbs:

• habet = has
• dicit = says

So the sentence is about the tribune: he has power, and he says something.

Because potestatem is the direct object of habet. The verb habere often takes an object in the accusative, just like English to have.

• potestas = power, authority
• potestatem = accusative singular
• magnam = accusative singular feminine, agreeing with potestatem

So magnam potestatem habet literally means he has great power.

This is a very common Latin construction called an indirect statement (also called accusative and infinitive).

After a verb of saying, thinking, knowing, and so on, Latin often uses:

• an accusative subject
• plus an infinitive

So here:

• dicit = he says
• se = that he
• velle = wants

Literally, Latin says something like he says himself to want..., but in normal English we translate it as he says that he wants...

Because se is the reflexive pronoun and refers back to the subject of the main verb, which is tribunus.

So:

• dicit se velle = he says that he himself wants
• dicit eum velle = he says that that other man wants

Since the tribune is speaking about himself, Latin uses se.

Because velle normally takes another infinitive with it.

• velle = to want
• facere = to do, to make

So facere velle means to want to do.

Inside the indirect statement, velle is the main infinitive after dicit, and facere depends on velle:

• dicit se facere velle = he says that he wants to do

Then Latin adds nihil and the prepositional phrase to complete the sense.

Nihil means nothing, and here it is the object of facere:

• nihil facere = to do nothing

Latin often uses nihil where English may prefer not ... anything, especially in smoother translation. So this can be understood idiomatically as:

• to do nothing without the authority of the senate
• or more naturally in English, not to do anything without the authority of the senate

By contrast, non facere would simply mean not to do.

The preposition sine means without and takes the ablative. So:

• auctoritate is ablative singular of auctoritas
• sine auctoritate = without authority

Then senatus depends on auctoritate and means of the senate. So the whole phrase means:

without the authority of the senate

or, depending on context,

without the senate's authorization

Here senatus is genitive singular: of the senate.

This can confuse learners because senatus is a 4th-declension noun, and some of its forms look alike. In particular:

• nominative singular: senatus = the senate
• genitive singular: senatus = of the senate

So the case has to be worked out from the syntax. Since it goes with auctoritate, the sense is clearly authority of the senate.

It breaks down like this:

• Quamquam tribunus magnam potestatem habet
  = Although the tribune has great power
• dicit
  = he says
• se ... nihil facere velle
  = that he wants to do nothing
• sine auctoritate senatus
  = without the authority of the senate

So the sentence has:

1. a concessive clause introduced by quamquam
2. a main verb, dicit
3. an indirect statement, se ... velle
4. inside that, a complementary infinitive, facere

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because Latin shows grammatical relationships mainly through endings, not position.

This sentence puts important ideas in prominent places:

• Quamquam first, to set up the contrast
• magnam potestatem before habet, highlighting great power
• se early in the indirect statement, marking the subject of the infinitives
• velle at the end, which is a very natural place in Latin for a key verb

So the order is not random; it is flexible but meaningful.