Magistra respondet “hic” pronomen demonstrativum esse, “qui” autem pronomen relativum.

Because after a verb like respondet (answers), Latin often uses an indirect statement.

So instead of saying:

• hic pronomen demonstrativum est

Latin can report it as:

• hic pronomen demonstrativum esse

Literally, this is “the teacher answers hic to be a demonstrative pronoun,” but in normal English we translate it as “the teacher answers that hic is a demonstrative pronoun.”

So esse is the infinitive required by that construction.

Because here hic and qui are being mentioned as words, not used normally inside the sentence.

The teacher is not saying “this” and “who” in the ordinary grammatical sense. She is talking about the forms themselves: the word hic, and the word qui.

When Latin cites a word as a word, it often leaves it in its dictionary or quoted form rather than forcing it into the case the sentence would otherwise require. So hic means “the word hic,” and qui means “the word qui.”

Because pronomen is a neuter singular noun, and in Latin the nominative and accusative neuter singular have the same form.

So:

• nominative: pronomen demonstrativum
• accusative: pronomen demonstrativum

look identical.

That means the form itself does not show the case change. In an indirect statement, we understand the predicate with the syntax of the construction, but the visible form stays the same because neuter nominative and accusative are identical.

Autem means something like however, but, or on the other hand.

So the sentence contrasts the two words:

• hic is a demonstrative pronoun,
• qui, however, is a relative pronoun.

It is a fairly mild contrast, less blunt than sed can be.

Because autem is a postpositive word. That means it usually comes second in its clause, not first.

So Latin prefers:

• qui autem

rather than:

• autem qui

This is very normal for autem, enim, and some other small connecting words.

It is simply understood from the first half of the sentence.

Fuller Latin would be:

• Magistra respondet hic pronomen demonstrativum esse, qui autem pronomen relativum esse.

But Latin often omits a repeated word when it is obvious. This is a common kind of ellipsis.

So the sentence means:

• hic [is] a demonstrative pronoun,
• qui, however, [is] a relative pronoun.

Here it is the demonstrative pronoun/adjective hic = this.

That is important because Latin also has the adverb hīc meaning here. In texts with macrons, the adverb is usually written hīc, while the demonstrative form is hic.

Since the sentence says pronomen demonstrativum, it must mean the demonstrative word hic, not the adverb hīc.

Yes.

Both words can function either as:

• pronouns, standing by themselves, or
• adjectives, modifying a noun.

For example:

• hic venit = “this man/person comes” or simply “this one comes” → pronoun
• hic puer venit = “this boy comes” → adjective

And similarly:

• vir qui venit = “the man who comes” → qui is functioning pronominally within the relative clause
• qui vir? in some contexts can be adjectival/interrogative in form and use

In your sentence, though, the teacher is giving the standard grammatical classification of hic as demonstrative and qui as relative.

It is mainly indirect speech.

The teacher’s answer is not quoted as a full sentence like:

• Magistra respondet: “Hic pronomen demonstrativum est...”

Instead, Latin reports her answer through an infinitive construction:

• respondet ... esse

The quotation marks around hic and qui are only there because those forms are being mentioned as words. So the sentence contains quoted words, but the overall structure is still indirect statement.

Because Latin has no articles.

So pronomen demonstrativum can mean:

• a demonstrative pronoun
• the demonstrative pronoun

depending on context.

English requires an article, but Latin does not. Learners often have to supply a/an/the naturally when translating.

The word order is fairly natural, but not rigidly fixed.

Latin could rearrange many parts of this sentence and still keep the same basic meaning, because the grammar is shown mostly by endings and construction, not by strict position.

Still, this order is helpful because it presents the information clearly:

• Magistra respondet = the main statement
• hic ... esse = first classification
• qui autem ... = contrasting second classification

So the order is mainly about clarity and emphasis, not about an absolute rule like in English.