Pater dicit hanc viam illa breviorem esse, itaque praeter macellum ad pistrinum procedit.

Because dicit introduces an indirect statement.

In Latin, after verbs like say, think, know, and hear, the normal pattern is:

accusative + infinitive

So instead of saying:

haec via brevior est = this road is shorter

Latin changes it to:

hanc viam ... esse = that this road is ...

So haec via becomes hanc viam because it is the subject of the infinitive esse inside indirect speech.

For the same reason: this is an indirect statement after dicit.

English says:

Father says that this road is shorter than that one.

Latin usually does not use a word for that here. Instead it uses:

• an accusative subject: hanc viam
• an infinitive verb: esse

So:

dicit hanc viam ... esse
literally = he says this road to be ...
normal English = he says that this road is ...

Here illa is an ablative of comparison.

With a comparative adjective like breviorem (shorter), Latin can compare in two common ways:

• with quam: shorter than that road
• with the ablative alone

So this phrase means:

hanc viam illa breviorem esse
= that this road is shorter than that one

The understood full form is:

hanc viam illa via breviorem esse

In a text with macrons, this would be clearer as illā, showing the ablative singular.

If Latin had used quam, you might expect something like:

hanc viam breviorem esse quam illam

Yes. Latin often leaves out a noun if it is obvious from context.

So illa by itself stands for illa via = that road.

This is very common, especially when repeating the noun would sound unnecessary.

Breviorem agrees with hanc viam.

They are both:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative

That is because breviorem describes hanc viam inside the indirect statement.

The adjective comes from brevis = short.
Its comparative is brevior = shorter.
Here the feminine accusative singular form is breviorem.

It could have, but it does not have to.

Latin often uses the ablative of comparison instead of quam when the meaning is clear.

So both of these are possible in Latin:

• hanc viam illa breviorem esse
• hanc viam breviorem esse quam illam

Both mean essentially the same thing: that this road is shorter than that one.

Using the ablative is a very normal Latin way to express comparison.

Yes.

The first clause has pater as the subject:

Pater dicit = Father says

Then the sentence continues:

itaque ... procedit = and so he proceeds

Since no new subject is introduced, Latin expects you to understand that the subject is still pater.

This is very natural in Latin, because the verb ending -it already tells you it is he/she/it.

Itaque means and so, therefore, or thus.

It connects the two parts of the sentence logically:

• Father says this road is shorter.
• Therefore, he goes that way.

So itaque signals a result or consequence.

Because both prepositions here take the accusative:

• praeter
  • accusative
• ad
  • accusative

So:

• praeter macellum = past the market
• ad pistrinum = to the bakery

This is not because they are direct objects of the verb; it is because the prepositions require the accusative case.

Here it means past.

Praeter can have different meanings in different contexts, including except for, but with a motion verb like procedit it clearly has a spatial meaning:

praeter macellum = past/by the market

So the idea is movement along a route.

Procedit means goes forward, proceeds, or simply goes on.

It is a slightly more specific verb than a basic goes. It suggests moving onward along the route that has just been discussed.

So in context it means that, because this road is shorter, father continues on / proceeds past the market toward the bakery.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

English depends heavily on position:

Father says that this road is shorter than that one

Latin can move words around more freely because the endings show their grammatical role.

So in this sentence:

• hanc viam is recognized as accusative from its ending
• breviorem agrees with it
• esse marks the indirect statement
• illa works as the comparison

That means Latin can arrange the words for emphasis or style without causing much confusion.

A more literal English-style order would be possible, but the given Latin order is completely normal.