Puer dicit se sonitum tibiae magis amare quam cantum chori.

Se is the reflexive pronoun in the accusative. In this sentence, it refers back to puer.

Latin often uses se in indirect statement when the subject of the main verb and the subject of the infinitive are the same person:

• Puer dicit se amare...
• The boy says that he loves...

So se means himself here, but in natural English we usually translate it simply as he in this kind of sentence: The boy says that he likes...

After verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, hearing, and similar verbs, Latin very often uses an indirect statement construction rather than a that-clause.

That construction is:

• accusative subject + infinitive

So here:

• dicit = says
• se = accusative subject of the infinitive
• amare = infinitive

Together, dicit se amare means he says that he likes/loves.

English uses that; Latin usually uses the accusative-and-infinitive construction instead.

They are accusative for different reasons:

• se is accusative because it is the subject of the infinitive in the indirect statement.
• sonitum is accusative because it is the direct object of amare.
• cantum is also accusative because it is being compared as another direct object after quam.

So the structure is essentially:

• The boy says [himself] [to like] [the sound of the flute] more than [the song of the choir].

Tibiae is genitive singular, depending on sonitum.

So:

• sonitus tibiae = the sound of the flute

The genitive often shows possession or close relationship, and in English we often translate it with of.

Here tibiae comes from tibia, which in this context means flute or pipe.

Chori is also a genitive singular, depending on cantum.

So:

• cantus chori = the song of the chorus/choir

Just like tibiae with sonitum, chori tells us whose or what kind of song it is.

Magis ... quam means more ... than.

So:

• magis amare quam = to like more than

In this sentence:

• se sonitum tibiae magis amare quam cantum chori
• that he likes the sound of the flute more than the song of the choir

This is the normal Latin way to make a comparison with an adjective, adverb, or verb idea like like more.

In a sense, yes. Latin often leaves out a repeated verb when it is easy to understand.

The full sense is:

• se sonitum tibiae magis amare quam cantum chori
• he likes the sound of the flute more than he likes the song of the choir

Latin does not need to repeat amare, because it is understood from the first part.

Puer is the subject of the main verb dicit.

So:

• puer = the boy
• dicit = says

That is why puer is nominative: it is the one doing the saying.

It is infinitive because it is part of the indirect statement after dicit.

The pattern is:

• main verb of saying/thinking
• accusative subject
• infinitive verb

So amare does not mean simply to love in isolation here; together with se, it forms the content of what the boy says:

• se amare = that he likes/loves

Yes. While amare often means to love, it can also mean to like or to be fond of, depending on context.

In this sentence, because the objects are the sound of the flute and the song of the choir, English usually prefers like rather than the stronger love.

So a natural translation is:

• The boy says that he likes the sound of the flute more than the song of the choir.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order because Latin uses case endings to show grammatical relationships.

English depends heavily on position:

• The boy says that he likes...

Latin can move words around more easily:

• Puer dicit se sonitum tibiae magis amare quam cantum chori.

The endings tell you what each word is doing:

• puer = subject
• se = subject of the infinitive
• sonitum, cantum = objects
• tibiae, chori = genitives

So you should not expect Latin to match English word-for-word in order.

Normally, no. In this kind of sentence, se naturally refers back to the subject of the main verb, which is puer.

So the default meaning is:

• The boy says that he himself likes...

If Latin wanted to make it clear that some other male person was meant, it would usually use a different pronoun, not the reflexive se.

Here is a quick breakdown:

• puer: 2nd declension noun
• sonitum: accusative singular of sonitus, 4th declension
• tibiae: genitive singular of tibia, 1st declension
• cantum: accusative singular of cantus, 4th declension
• chori: genitive singular of chorus, 2nd declension

A learner may notice that sonitum and cantum look similar because both are 4th declension accusative singular in -um.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Puer = subject of the main clause
• dicit = main verb
• se ... amare = indirect statement
• sonitum tibiae = first object of amare
• magis ... quam cantum chori = comparison

So the structure is:

• The boy says
• that he likes
• the sound of the flute
• more than
• the song of the choir.

That is the key pattern to recognize.