Hic liber multa verba nova continet.

In this sentence, hic is a demonstrative adjective, meaning this.

It agrees with liber (book) in:

• gender: masculine
• number: singular
• case: nominative

So hic liber means this book.

Latin also has a word hic meaning here, but that is an adverb, not an adjective. You can tell which one it is from the sentence structure:

• hic liber = this book
• if it meant here, it would not be directly modifying liber in this way

Because liber is a masculine noun, and hic has to match it.

The demonstrative hic, haec, hoc means:

• hic = masculine
• haec = feminine
• hoc = neuter

Since liber is masculine, Latin uses hic:

• hic liber = this book

If the noun were neuter, then hoc would be used instead.

Liber is nominative singular.

We know this because it is the subject of the sentence: the book is the thing doing the action of containing.

So the basic structure is:

• hic liber = subject
• continet = verb
• multa verba nova = direct object

Since the subject of a Latin sentence is normally in the nominative case, liber is nominative singular.

Because they all go together, and they are all neuter plural accusative.

Here is the breakdown:

• verba = words
• multa = many
• nova = new

These three words form the object phrase multa verba nova = many new words.

Why -a?

• verbum is a second-declension neuter noun
• neuter plural nominative and accusative forms often end in -a
• adjectives must agree with the noun they describe

So:

• verba = neuter plural accusative
• multa agrees with verba
• nova also agrees with verba

That is why all three have the same ending here.

Because verba is neuter plural, and the adjective must match it.

The adjective multus, multa, multum means many / much. Its form changes depending on gender, number, and case.

Here we need:

• neuter
• plural
• accusative

That form is multa.

So:

• multi would be masculine plural
• multae would be feminine plural
• multa is the correct neuter plural form

Since verba is neuter plural, multa verba is correct.

In Latin, adjective position is much freer than in English.

English strongly prefers:

• new words

Latin can say:

• nova verba
• verba nova

Both are normal.

So multa verba nova is perfectly natural Latin. The adjective nova still clearly modifies verba, because its ending shows agreement.

Latin relies more on endings than on strict word order.

Continet is:

• present tense
• third person singular
• from the verb continere

It means he/she/it contains or simply contains.

Why singular? Because the subject is hic liber = this book, which is singular.

So:

• liber continet = the book contains

If the subject were plural, the verb would also be plural.

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

So a noun like liber can mean:

• a book
• the book
• just book

The context tells you which is most natural.

In this sentence, hic already makes the noun definite:

• hic liber = this book

So Latin does not need a separate word for the.

We know because:

1. Continet is a transitive verb, so it can take a direct object.
2. Verba is in the accusative plural.
3. The accusative case is commonly used for the direct object.

So the sentence breaks down like this:

• hic liber = subject
• continet = verb
• multa verba nova = direct object

In other words, this book is doing the containing, and many new words are what it contains.

Here it means many.

That is because it is describing verba, which is a plural count noun: words.

So:

• many words = multa verba

If it were used with something understood as uncountable, it could mean much instead. But with verba, the natural meaning is clearly many.

Yes, often it can.

Because Latin uses case endings, the sentence can be rearranged more freely than in English. For example, these would still basically mean the same thing:

• Hic liber multa verba nova continet.
• Hic liber continet multa verba nova.
• Multa verba nova hic liber continet.

The main meaning stays the same because the endings show the grammar.

However, changing the word order can slightly change the emphasis:

• putting multa verba nova earlier can emphasize the words
• putting continet at the end is a very common Latin style

Normally it just means this book.

The word hic is enough by itself to point something out. Latin does not need an extra word like English sometimes uses for emphasis, as in this here book.

So in ordinary translation:

• hic liber = this book

If the context is especially emphatic, you might bring that out in English, but the basic meaning is simply this book.