Mihi mos huius magistrae placet, quia non solum verba, sed etiam usum verborum explicat.

Because placere works differently from English to like.

In Latin, the thing that is liked is the subject, and the person who likes it is put in the dative case.

So here:

• mos huius magistrae = the thing that pleases
• mihi = to me

Literally, Mihi mos huius magistrae placet means The manner of this teacher pleases me. That is the normal Latin way to express I like this teacher’s manner.

Mihi is the dative singular of ego.

Its job here is to show the person affected by placet:

• mihi placet = it pleases me
• literally, to me it is pleasing

This dative with verbs like placet is extremely common in Latin.

Mos literally means custom, habit, way, or manner. In this sentence, the most natural sense is way of doing things or teaching style.

So mos huius magistrae is not just some abstract social custom. It means something like:

• this teacher’s manner
• this teacher’s way
• this teacher’s teaching style

Grammatically, mos is:

• nominative singular
• masculine
• the subject of placet

It is a third-declension noun: mos, moris.

Because they are in the genitive, showing possession.

• huius = of this
• magistrae = of the teacher or of the female teacher

So huius magistrae means of this teacher.

A learner often notices that magistrae could be several things in isolation:

• genitive singular
• dative singular
• nominative plural

But here genitive singular is clearly right, because it depends on mos: the manner of this teacher.

Also, huius is the genitive singular form of hic, haec, hoc, so it strongly points you toward a genitive phrase.

Because Latin needs the genitive, not the nominative.

Compare:

• haec magistra = this teacher
• huius magistrae = of this teacher

English uses this teacher’s, but Latin expresses that with the genitive form huius magistrae.

So huius does not mean a different kind of this; it is just the correct case-form for of this.

No. Here verba means words.

That is a very common beginner confusion, because English verb comes from Latin verbum. But in Latin itself, verbum very often means simply word.

So in this sentence:

• verba = words
• not verbs

That also fits the context very well, because the sentence contrasts:

• verba = the words themselves
• usum verborum = the use of those words

It is a very common paired expression meaning:

• not only ... but also

Here it links two direct objects of explicat:

• non solum verba
• sed etiam usum verborum

So the structure is:

• she explains not only words
• but also the use of words

This is a standard Latin correlative pair, and it works much like English.

Because they are both direct objects of explicat.

The verb explicat means she explains, and what does she explain?

• verba
• usum verborum

So both have to be in the accusative.

More specifically:

• verba is accusative plural of verbum
• usum is accusative singular of usus

Because usus is a fourth-declension noun, and here it is the direct object of explicat, so it must be in the accusative singular.

Its forms are:

• nominative singular: usus
• accusative singular: usum

So:

• usus verborum = the use of words as a subject
• usum verborum = the use of words as an object

In this sentence, the teacher explains the use of words, so Latin needs usum.

Verborum is the genitive plural of verbum.

It depends on usum and means of words. So:

• usus verborum = use of words
• usum verborum = use of words in the accusative phrase

This is a very normal Latin way to express the idea usage of words or the way words are used.

Because Latin often leaves subject pronouns out when the verb ending already makes the person and number clear.

• explicat = he/she/it explains

The ending -t tells you it is third person singular. The context tells you the subject is the teacher, so in English we understand it as she explains.

Latin does this all the time:

• explico = I explain
• explicas = you explain
• explicat = he/she/it explains

So a separate ea for she is unnecessary here.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order. The endings show what each word is doing, so Latin does not depend on position as heavily as English does.

For example:

• mihi comes first for emphasis: as for me / to me
• placet comes near the end of the first clause, which is very natural in Latin
• explicat comes at the end of the second clause, which is also very common
• non solum ... sed etiam neatly frames the two objects

So the word order is not random. It is flexible, but still stylistic and meaningful.

Because quia here introduces a straightforward, factual reason:

• because she explains ...

When the speaker presents the reason as a simple fact, Latin normally uses the indicative, which is what we see in explicat.

So the sentence is not giving a doubtful, reported, or hypothetical reason. It is stating the speaker’s real reason directly.