Sic et verba nova et res novae memoria tenentur, cum discipuli non solum in schola sedeant, sed etiam oculis suis quercus, pinos, hirundines, et formicas observent.

Sic means thus, so, or in this way. It points back to the idea before this sentence and shows the result or method: this is how new words and new things are remembered.

So here sic is not just filler; it helps connect the sentence to what came earlier.

The main verb is tenentur.

Its subject is the compound phrase:

• verba nova = new words
• res novae = new things

So the basic main clause is:

verba nova et res novae memoria tenentur
= new words and new things are kept in memory / remembered

The rest of the sentence, beginning with cum, explains the circumstance under which this happens.

Et ... et ... is a common Latin pair meaning both ... and ....

So:

• et verba nova et res novae = both new words and new things

Latin often uses this structure where English would use both only once.

Because adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case.

• verba is neuter plural, so the adjective is nova
• res is feminine plural, so the adjective is novae

So:

• verba nova = new words
• res novae = new things

This is a very common thing to watch for in Latin: the adjective changes form to match the noun.

Memoria is in the ablative singular.

Here it is part of the idiomatic expression memoria tenere or, in the passive, memoria teneri, meaning:

• to keep in memory
• to be held in memory
• more naturally in English, to be remembered

So memoria is not the subject. The subject is verba nova et res novae.
You can think of memoria as meaning in memory.

Tenentur is the present passive of teneo.

Latin says literally:

• new words and new things are held in memory

English often prefers a more active or idiomatic expression, such as:

• people remember new words and new things
• new words and new things are remembered

Latin is perfectly happy to express this idea with a passive verb.

They are subjunctive because they follow cum in a clause describing the circumstance in which the main action happens.

So:

• cum discipuli ... sedeant ... observent
  means something like
• when / since / whenever the students ... sit ... and observe

This is not just a simple clock-time when. It is more like under the circumstance that or when it is the case that. That is why Latin uses the subjunctive here.

Both verbs are present subjunctive plural:

• sedeant from sedeo
• observent from observo

This is a standard correlative pair meaning not only ... but also ...

So:

• non solum in schola sedeant
• sed etiam ... observent

means:

• they not only sit in school/class
• but also observe ...

Latin uses this pair very regularly, and it works much like English.

Schola is in the ablative singular because in with the ablative usually means in or on a place where someone is located.

So:

• in schola = in school / in the classroom

If Latin wanted motion into a place, it would normally use in with the accusative instead.

Oculis suis is ablative plural and expresses means or instrument:

• with their own eyes

That is why the ablative is used.

Also, suis is a reflexive adjective. It refers back to the subject of the clause, which is discipuli. So it means:

• the students’ own eyes

Latin often uses suus, sua, suum when something belongs to the subject of its own clause.

They are all direct objects of observent, so they are all in the accusative plural. They look different because they belong to different declensions.

• quercus — accusative plural of a 4th-declension noun
• pinos — accusative plural of a 2nd-declension noun
• hirundines — accusative plural of a 3rd-declension noun
• formicas — accusative plural of a 1st-declension noun

So the difference in endings does not mean they have different jobs in the sentence. They all function the same way: they are things the students observe.

Because some Latin nouns, especially in the 4th declension, have forms that look identical in different cases or numbers.

With quercus, the accusative plural is also quercus. That can feel strange at first, but it is normal Latin morphology.

You identify its role from the sentence:

• it comes in a list of things being observed
• it depends on observent
• therefore it is functioning as an object here

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because Latin shows grammatical relationships mainly through endings, not position.

A few things are worth noticing here:

• the main verb tenentur comes fairly late
• the cum clause comes after the main clause
• observent is placed after its object list, which is very natural in Latin
• oculis suis is placed before the objects for emphasis: the students see these things with their own eyes

So the word order is not random. It is flexible and often used for emphasis, balance, and style.

The present tense here gives a general truth or habitual sense.

The sentence is not describing one single event on one particular day. It is making a general educational point:

• this is how new words and new things are remembered
• when students do not only sit in class, but also observe real things

So the present tense is very natural.