Sacerdos hostiam parvam ad sacrificium parat.

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

• sacerdos = priest
• nominative singular = the priest as the one doing the action

So sacerdos is the person who prepares.

Because hostiam is in the accusative singular, which is the case used for the direct object.

The verb parat means prepares, so we ask:

The priest prepares what?
Answer: hostiam parvam.

That is why the noun must be accusative:

• nominative: hostia
• accusative: hostiam

So hostiam shows that it is the thing being prepared.

Because parvam is an adjective describing hostiam, and in Latin adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe.

That means they match in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• hostiam = feminine, singular, accusative
• parvam = feminine, singular, accusative

Even though one word is a noun and the other is an adjective, they must match.

In Latin, adjectives can come before or after the noun. Both are normal.

So Latin can say:

• hostiam parvam
• parvam hostiam

Both mean the same basic thing: the small victim/offering.

Sometimes word order can add slight emphasis, but at this stage the important point is that Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammar.

Hostia means a sacrificial victim or offering used in a religious sacrifice.

It does not usually mean just any random victim in the modern English sense. In a sentence like this, it has a specifically religious meaning.

So in context, hostiam parvam means something like:

• a small sacrificial victim
• a small offering for sacrifice

Ad is a preposition that takes the accusative case. Its basic meaning is often to or toward, but in many contexts it can also mean for or for the purpose of.

Here, ad sacrificium means something like:

• for sacrifice
• for the sacrifice
• for use in a sacrifice

So it tells us the purpose of the preparation.

Because ad takes the accusative.

So the noun after it must be accusative singular:

• nominative: sacrificium
• accusative: sacrificium

In this noun, the nominative and accusative singular happen to look the same, because it is a neuter second-declension noun.

That is very common in Latin: many neuter nouns have the same form in the nominative and accusative singular.

Latin often places the verb near the end of the sentence, much more often than English does.

So:

• Sacerdos hostiam parvam ad sacrificium parat
• literally: The priest the small offering for sacrifice prepares

In natural English, we move the verb earlier:

• The priest prepares the small offering for sacrifice

Latin word order is often used for style or emphasis, but the endings still tell you each word's role.

Parat is:

• present tense
• third person singular
• active voice

It means:

• he prepares
• she prepares
• it prepares

Since the subject is sacerdos, we translate it here as the priest prepares.

The verb comes from paro, parare, meaning to prepare.

We know it from its dictionary form and its grammatical pattern.

Sacerdos here is a third-declension nominative singular form. Its plural nominative would be sacerdotes.

So:

• sacerdos = priest
• sacerdotes = priests

Because the subject is singular, the verb is also singular: parat, not parant.

It can be either masculine or feminine, depending on the person being described.

The word sacerdos means priest/priestess in form, and its grammatical gender can follow natural sex in context.

In this sentence alone, without more context, English might simply say the priest. But Latin sacerdos itself can refer to a male or female priest.

What matters grammatically here is that parat is the same for either he or she, so the sentence does not force one choice.

Yes, very often.

Because the endings show the grammatical roles, Latin can rearrange the sentence more freely than English. For example, these would still mean basically the same thing:

• Sacerdos hostiam parvam ad sacrificium parat
• Hostiam parvam sacerdos ad sacrificium parat
• Ad sacrificium sacerdos hostiam parvam parat
• Parat sacerdos hostiam parvam ad sacrificium

The exact order may change the emphasis, but the core meaning stays the same because:

• sacerdos is nominative = subject
• hostiam parvam is accusative = direct object
• ad sacrificium is a prepositional phrase
• parat is the verb

A useful method is to find the parts in this order:

1. Find the verb: parat = prepares
2. Find the subject in the nominative: sacerdos
3. Find the direct object in the accusative: hostiam parvam
4. Find any prepositional phrases: ad sacrificium

So you can build the sentence like this:

• parat = prepares
• sacerdos = the priest prepares
• hostiam parvam = the priest prepares the small offering
• ad sacrificium = the priest prepares the small offering for sacrifice

That is a very helpful reading habit for beginners.