Lepus parvus subito apparet et per gramen fugit.

Lepus is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject of a sentence.

So in:

• Lepus parvus subito apparet
• ... et per gramen fugit

the hare is the one doing the actions: appears and flees/runs.

Also, both verbs are third person singular, which matches a single subject: lepus.

Lepus is a third-declension masculine noun. Its dictionary form is:

• lepus, leporis = hare

That means:

• lepus = nominative singular
• leporis = genitive singular

A learner might expect a masculine noun to look second-declension, but many masculine nouns in Latin belong to the third declension instead.

Because parvus is describing lepus, and adjectives in Latin must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• lepus is masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

That gives parvus = small.

Subito is an adverb, meaning suddenly.

It modifies the verb apparet:

• subito apparet = appears suddenly / suddenly appears

In Latin, adverbs are often placed fairly freely, so subito can come before the verb without sounding unusual.

Apparet is:

• present tense
• third person singular
• from appareo, apparere = appear

So it means:

• he/she/it appears

Since the subject is lepus, it translates as the small hare appears.

Because the verb ending already tells you the person and number.

For example:

• apparet = he/she/it appears
• fugit = he/she/it flees

Latin often leaves out subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast. So English needs it appears, but Latin can simply say apparet.

After the preposition per, Latin normally uses the accusative case.

So:

• per = through
• gramen = accusative singular here

A useful detail: gramen is a third-declension neuter noun, and neuter nouns often have the same form in the nominative singular and accusative singular. So gramen looks the same in both cases.

Its dictionary form is:

• gramen, graminis = grass

Because per and in do different things.

• per gramen = through the grass
• in gramine = in the grass

Per suggests movement through something, which fits well with fugit. The hare is not just located in the grass; it is moving through it.

Here fugit is:

• present tense
• third person singular
• from fugio, fugere = flee, run away

So in this sentence it means:

• he/she/it flees
• or more naturally, it runs

A helpful warning: fugit can also be a perfect form in Latin spelling, depending on context. In a sentence like this, with apparet also in the present, learners should understand fugit as present: flees/runs.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings show how words relate to each other.

So:

• Lepus parvus subito apparet et per gramen fugit

could be rearranged in various ways without changing the basic meaning.

However, the chosen order is natural and clear:

• Lepus parvus introduces the subject
• subito adds the suddenness before apparet
• et links the two actions
• per gramen fugit finishes with the movement

So the order is not random, but it is less rigid than in English.

Et simply means and. It links the two verbs:

• apparet
• fugit

So the sentence describes two actions done by the same subject:

1. the small hare appears
2. and it runs through the grass

Not exactly at the exact same instant, but both are presented in the present tense as part of the same scene.

Latin often uses the present tense to narrate a vivid sequence of events:

• first the hare appears
• then it runs through the grass

So the sentence feels immediate and lively.