Puer superbus sororem minus audit, puella autem modesta et docilis magistram libenter audit.

Because they are direct objects of audit.

The verb audit means he/she hears, listens to and it takes an object in the accusative case. So:

• soror → sororem = sister → the sister as object
• magistra → magistram = teacher → the teacher as object

So the sentence is showing:

• the boy listens to his sister
• the girl listens to the teacher

Latin changes the noun ending to show its job in the sentence.

Because in Latin, audio takes a direct object, not a prepositional phrase.

In English we usually say listen to someone, but Latin says more literally hear/listen someone:

• sororem audit = he listens to his sister
• magistram audit = she listens to the teacher

So even though English needs to, Latin does not.

We know from the case endings.

• puer and puella are in the nominative case, which is normally used for the subject
• sororem and magistram are in the accusative case, which is normally used for the direct object

So even if the word order changed, the endings would still tell us who is doing the action and who is receiving it.

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

• puer is masculine singular nominative, so its adjective is superbus
• puella is feminine singular nominative, so its adjective is modesta

This is a basic Latin rule: adjectives change form to match the noun.

Because docilis is a third-declension adjective, and many third-declension adjectives use the same nominative singular form for masculine and feminine.

So:

• masculine: docilis
• feminine: docilis
• neuter: docile

That means puella docilis is perfectly correct. The adjective still agrees with puella, even though the form does not look different from the masculine.

Here minus is an adverb meaning less.

So sororem minus audit means something like:

• he listens to his sister less
• he listens less to his sister

It modifies the verb audit.

This minus is the comparative adverb related to parum/little, not much. It does not mean very little in a superlative sense; it specifically means less.

Libenter is an adverb, and it means gladly, willingly, or with pleasure.

It modifies audit:

• magistram libenter audit = she gladly listens to the teacher

So the sentence contrasts the two actions not only by subject, but also by attitude:

• the boy listens less
• the girl listens gladly

Because autem is very often postpositive in Latin. That means it tends to come after the first word of its clause, not before it.

So:

• puella autem = the girl, however / but the girl

This is normal Latin word order. English usually puts but/however first, but Latin often places autem in second position.

Both autem and sed can be translated as but, but they are not exactly the same.

A simple way to think about it:

• sed = a stronger, more direct but
• autem = however, on the other hand, a milder contrast

Here the sentence is setting up a contrast between the boy and the girl, so autem works very naturally.

Also, autem usually comes after the first word of its clause, while sed usually comes first.

Yes, but not in the same way as in English.

Latin word order is more flexible because the endings show the grammatical relationships. Still, the order can affect style, emphasis, and flow.

In this sentence, the order is quite natural:

• subject first: puer, puella
• adjectives near their nouns: superbus, modesta et docilis
• object before verb: sororem ... audit, magistram ... audit

That final placement of audit is also very common in Latin prose.

So the word order is not the only way to say it, but it is a very normal and readable way.

Yes, in some contexts Latin could omit a repeated verb if the meaning were obvious. But repeating audit here is perfectly natural and probably clearer for a learner.

The repetition also creates a neat balance:

• puer superbus ... audit
• puella autem modesta et docilis ... audit

So the repeated verb helps underline the contrast between the two subjects and their behavior.

Because Classical Latin has no articles.

Latin does not have separate words for the or a/an. Whether you translate a noun as a boy, the boy, a sister, or the sister depends on the context.

So:

• puer can mean boy / a boy / the boy
• sororem can mean sister / a sister / the sister

English requires an article much more often than Latin does.

Et simply means and. It is joining two adjectives that both describe puella:

• modesta = modest
• docilis = teachable, docile, receptive to instruction

So puella modesta et docilis means the modest and teachable girl.

Both adjectives are in the nominative singular feminine to agree with puella, even though docilis has the same form for masculine and feminine.