Ancilla far per cribrum fundit, deinde fermentum parvum addit.

• ancilla = maidservant or female slave; it is the subject
• far = grain / spelt / flour; it is the thing being poured
• per = through
• cribrum = sieve
• fundit = pours
• deinde = then / next
• fermentum = yeast / leaven
• parvum = small / little
• addit = adds

So the structure is:

Ancilla + far + per cribrum + fundit
The maidservant + flour + through a sieve + pours

then:

deinde fermentum parvum addit
then she adds a little yeast

Because ancilla is in the nominative singular, which is the case Latin normally uses for the subject of a sentence.

Also, the verb fundit is third person singular, so it matches a singular subject: she pours. The same is true for addit: she adds.

Latin often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed. The verb ending already tells you the person and number.

• fundit = he/she/it pours
• addit = he/she/it adds

Since ancilla is already named as the subject, Latin does not need to add ea (she).

Because far is a neuter noun whose nominative and accusative singular are the same.

Its dictionary forms are usually given as far, farris, n.

So in this sentence, far is the direct object of fundit, even though its form does not visibly change.

This is very common with neuter nouns in Latin:

• nominative singular = accusative singular
• nominative plural = accusative plural

Because it follows the preposition per, and per takes the accusative.

So:

• per cribrum = through a sieve

This is not the direct object of the verb; it is the object of the preposition per.

It is accusative singular, because it is the direct object of addit.

• fermentum = the thing being added
• parvum = an adjective agreeing with fermentum

Since fermentum is neuter singular accusative, parvum must also be neuter singular accusative.

Because parvum is an adjective modifying the noun fermentum.

• fermentum parvum = a small amount of yeast / little yeast

By contrast, parum is usually an adverb or indeclinable quantity word meaning too little / not enough.

So here Latin wants an adjective agreeing with fermentum, and that gives parvum.

Both are present indicative active, third person singular.

• fundit = she pours / is pouring
• addit = she adds / is adding

In a simple instructional or narrative context, the Latin present often translates naturally as English simple present.

Deinde is an adverb meaning then, next, or after that. It shows the sequence of actions.

So the sentence describes two steps:

1. fundit — she pours
2. deinde ... addit — then she adds

Latin word order is more flexible than English because Latin uses case endings to show grammatical function.

English depends heavily on word order:

• The maidservant pours the flour

Latin can move words around more freely because the endings help show who is doing what.

Still, this sentence is perfectly normal Latin:

• subject first: Ancilla
• object before the verb: far
• verb at or near the end: fundit
• then another object before the second verb: fermentum parvum addit

That verb-final tendency is very common in Latin prose.

Yes, to a large extent. Because the cases show the roles of the words, Latin can often vary the order without changing the basic meaning.

For example, these would still mean roughly the same thing:

• Ancilla per cribrum far fundit, deinde fermentum parvum addit.
• Far ancilla per cribrum fundit, deinde fermentum parvum addit.

However, changing the order can slightly change the emphasis. The original is a straightforward, natural order.

Not exactly. Far originally refers especially to spelt or a grain product made from it. In many teaching contexts, it is translated simply as flour because that fits the action in the sentence.

So depending on context, far may suggest:

• spelt
• grain
• meal
• flour

A learner should remember that Latin food vocabulary does not always match modern English words perfectly.

Yes, it could come before. Latin adjectives can appear either before or after the noun.

So both are possible:

• fermentum parvum
• parvum fermentum

Both mean small/little yeast or a small amount of yeast.

The position may slightly affect emphasis or style, but both are grammatical.