Marcus verba de tabula delere conatur, sed spongia nimis sicca est.

Because verba is the direct object of delere.

In this sentence, delere means to erase or to wipe away, and the thing being erased is the words. In Latin, the direct object usually goes in the accusative case.

• verba = words
• nominative singular: verbum
• nominative/accusative plural: verba

So verba delere means to erase the words.

Because de is a preposition meaning from, down from, or off.

So:

• tabulam would mean the tablet/board as a direct object
• de tabula means from the tablet/board

The sentence is not saying Marcus is erasing the board itself. It is saying he is erasing the words from the board.

Also, de takes the ablative case, so tabula here is ablative singular.

Because it depends on conatur.

The verb conor means try or attempt, and in Latin it is commonly followed by an infinitive that tells you what someone is trying to do.

So:

• conatur = he tries
• delere = to erase

Together: Marcus verba de tabula delere conatur = Marcus tries to erase the words from the board.

This is very similar to English tries to erase.

Because conatur comes from a deponent verb.

A deponent verb has:

• passive forms
• but an active meaning

So although conatur looks like a passive form, it means he tries, not he is tried.

Here is the basic idea:

• conor = I try
• conaris = you try
• conatur = he/she/it tries

This is a very common thing in Latin, and conor is one of the standard early examples.

Because it agrees with spongia, which is feminine.

Latin adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• spongia = feminine singular nominative
• sicca = feminine singular nominative

So spongia nimis sicca est means the sponge is too dry.

If the noun were masculine or neuter, the adjective form would change.

Nimis means too, excessively, or overly.

So:

• sicca = dry
• nimis sicca = too dry

It does not just mean very dry. It suggests that the dryness is a problem. That fits the context well: Marcus cannot erase the words properly because the sponge is too dry.

Because Latin word order is much freer than English word order.

English depends heavily on word order to show grammatical relationships. Latin depends much more on case endings and verb forms.

So in this sentence:

• Marcus is nominative, so he is the subject
• verba is accusative, so it is the object
• de tabula is a prepositional phrase
• delere is the infinitive
• conatur is the main verb

Latin can move these around for emphasis or style without making the meaning unclear.

This sentence is actually quite natural Latin: Marcus verba de tabula delere conatur puts the action Marcus is attempting before the main verb conatur, which is very common.

Because Latin often places the verb later in the clause, sometimes at the very end.

In English we say: the sponge is too dry

In Latin: spongia nimis sicca est

This is normal Latin word order. The important thing is that spongia and sicca are both nominative feminine singular, so they belong together, and est links them.

Tabula can mean several things depending on context, such as:

• a board
• a writing tablet
• a wax tablet
• sometimes more generally a flat writing surface

In this sentence, because Marcus is trying to erase words with a sponge, tabula probably means a writing surface such as a tablet or board, not an ordinary dining table.

So the exact English translation may vary slightly by context:

• from the tablet
• from the board

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

So:

• Marcus can mean Marcus
• verba can mean words or the words
• spongia can mean a sponge or the sponge
• tabula can mean a board/tablet or the board/tablet

English has to choose whether to use a or the, but Latin usually leaves that to context.

Sed means but.

It connects the two clauses and shows contrast:

• Marcus verba de tabula delere conatur = Marcus tries to erase the words from the board
• sed spongia nimis sicca est = but the sponge is too dry

So sed tells us that the second clause explains the problem or obstacle.

Yes. Although verba literally means words, in context it refers to written words or writing on the tablet/board.

Latin often uses verba in a straightforward sense like this. Since Marcus is erasing them from a writing surface, these are clearly words that have been written down, not just spoken aloud.