Licet sero sit, pater filiae adhuc exemplum Latinum legit.

That is a very common question. Licet can indeed mean it is permitted as an impersonal verb, but in sentences like this it often works as a concessive word, meaning although, even though, or granted that.

So here licet sero sit means something like:

• although it is late
• even though it is late

A good learner shortcut is:

• licet + subjunctive clause = although / even though

So in this sentence, licet is not about permission.

Because after concessive licet meaning although / even though, Latin normally uses the subjunctive.

Here:

• sit = present subjunctive of sum = to be

So:

• sero sit = it may be late literally
• but idiomatically = although it is late

This is one of those places where English often uses an ordinary indicative verb, but Latin prefers the subjunctive because of the clause type.

Sero is an adverb, meaning late or too late depending on context.

Here it modifies the idea of being:

• sero sit = it is late

English says it is late, with late looking like an adjective, but in Latin sero is commonly used as an adverb in this kind of expression.

It is related to the adjective serus, sera, serum = late.

This is an excellent question, because the form can look ambiguous if macrons are not shown.

From legere (to read):

• legit can be he/she reads = present
• lēgit can be he/she read / has read = perfect

If macrons are written, the difference is clearer:

• legit = present
• lēgit = perfect

In ordinary texts without macrons, context has to help you. Here adhuc (still) strongly suggests the present:

• adhuc ... legit = is still reading / still reads

So in this sentence, legit should be understood as present indicative.

Here filiae is most naturally genitive singular:

• pater filiae = the daughter's father or the father of the daughter

That said, filiae is one of those forms that can be ambiguous, because it can also be:

• dative singular
• genitive singular
• nominative plural

But in this sentence, the syntax makes genitive singular the best choice, because pater is being specified by whose father.

So:

• pater = father
• filiae = of the daughter

Formally, yes: filiae can be dative singular. But here that reading is much less likely.

Why?

Because:

1. pater filiae is a very natural noun + genitive phrase: the daughter's father
2. The verb legit already has a direct object: exemplum Latinum
3. Nothing strongly suggests an indirect object meaning to/for the daughter

So while the form itself is ambiguous, the sentence structure points clearly to genitive.

Because the adjective has to agree with the noun it modifies.

Here:

• exemplum is neuter singular accusative
• so the adjective must also be neuter singular accusative
• therefore: Latinum

Agreement in Latin means matching:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• exemplum = neuter singular accusative
• Latinum = neuter singular accusative

That is why Latinum is the correct form.

It is accusative singular, and it is the direct object of legit.

So the structure is:

• pater = subject
• legit = verb
• exemplum Latinum = what he reads

Because legere is a transitive verb, it takes a direct object in the accusative.

Because Latin does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So a Latin noun by itself can mean:

• a father
• the father

and context tells you which is meant.

That is why:

• pater can mean father, a father, or the father
• exemplum Latinum can mean a Latin example or the Latin example

English must choose an article, but Latin usually does not express it directly.

Adhuc means still, yet, or up to this point.

Here it shows continuation:

• despite the fact that it is late, the father is still reading

So adhuc gives the sense that the action has not stopped yet.

It often adds a nuance like:

• even now
• still
• up to now

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order, because endings show the grammatical relationships.

This sentence begins with the concessive clause:

• Licet sero sit, = Although it is late,

That sets the scene first. Then the main clause comes:

• pater filiae adhuc exemplum Latinum legit

Within that main clause:

• pater filiae keeps father close to of the daughter
• adhuc is placed before the object and verb, emphasizing still
• exemplum Latinum stays together as a noun phrase

A very literal rearrangement into more English-like order might be:

• pater filiae adhuc legit exemplum Latinum

But the given order is perfectly natural Latin.

Because pater is the subject of the verb legit, so it must be in the nominative.

The possession is shown not by changing pater, but by putting filiae in the genitive:

• pater = father
• filiae = of the daughter

So Latin expresses the daughter's father as:

• father in the nominative, because he is the subject
• daughter in the genitive, because she depends on father

Here Latinum is an adjective modifying exemplum:

• exemplum Latinum = a Latin example

It is not an adverbial expression meaning in Latin.

If Latin wanted to say in Latin, it would usually use a different construction, such as:

• Latine = in Latin

So:

• exemplum Latinum = a Latin example
• Latine = in Latin

That distinction is very useful to remember.