Hedera super murum crescit et fenestram paene tegit.

Hedera means ivy. Here it is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject of a clause.

You can tell it is the subject because:

• crescit is singular: it grows
• tegit is also singular: it covers
• hedera is the noun that naturally goes with those singular verbs

So hedera is the thing doing both actions: it grows and covers.

Here super means over or on top of / above, and with this kind of idea Latin often uses super + accusative.

So:

• murus = wall as a basic dictionary form
• murum = wall in the accusative singular

In this sentence, super murum means something like over the wall or on the wall / up over the wall.

For a learner, the important point is simply that super can take the accusative, and that is why you see murum, not murus.

This is a very common question, because some Latin prepositions can take more than one case.

With super:

• accusative often suggests over, above, or sometimes movement/extension over something
• ablative can also mean on, upon, or about, depending on context

In real Latin, the distinction is not always perfectly sharp, and authors do not always use the two cases in a completely mechanical way. In a beginner sentence like this one, it is enough to understand that super murum is a normal way to say over/on the wall.

Because fenestram is the direct object of tegit.

• fenestra = window
• fenestram = window in the accusative singular

The verb tegere means to cover, and the thing being covered goes into the accusative. So:

• hedera ... fenestram tegit = the ivy covers the window

That is why fenestram is accusative, but for a different reason from murum:

• murum is accusative because it follows the preposition super
• fenestram is accusative because it is the object of tegit

Crescit is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• from the verb crescere, meaning to grow

So crescit means it grows or is growing.

Because the subject is hedera, we understand it as the ivy grows.

Tegit is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• from tegere, meaning to cover

So tegit means it covers or is covering.

Since the subject is still hedera, the meaning is the ivy covers or is covering.

Paene means almost or nearly.

It modifies tegit, not fenestram. So the sense is:

• fenestram paene tegit = it almost covers the window

In other words, the ivy does not fully cover the window, but it comes close.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order. An adverb like paene is often placed near the word it modifies, so putting it before tegit is very natural.

So:

• fenestram paene tegit means
• it almost covers the window

Latin could sometimes arrange the words differently and still mean the same thing, because the endings show the grammatical roles.

Classical Latin has no articles like English the or a/an.

So:

• hedera can mean ivy, the ivy, or an ivy plant
• murum can mean a wall or the wall
• fenestram can mean a window or the window

Which one sounds best depends on context and translation style. English usually must choose, but Latin does not need to.

Because the structure of the sentence shows one subject doing two actions:

• Hedera ... crescit
• et ... tegit

So et means and, linking the two verb phrases:

• grows over the wall
• and almost covers the window

This is a very common Latin pattern: one subject, then two coordinated verbs.

Yes, to a large extent.

Because Latin uses case endings, the grammatical roles are clearer than in English. So forms like these would still be understandable:

• Hedera fenestram paene tegit et super murum crescit
• Super murum hedera crescit et fenestram paene tegit

The exact emphasis may shift a little, but the basic meaning stays the same. In the original sentence, the order feels straightforward and natural: first where the ivy grows, then what it almost covers.

Because the subject, hedera, is singular.

Latin verbs agree with their subject in person and number. Since hedera is one thing, the verbs are both 3rd person singular:

• crescit = it grows
• tegit = it covers

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