Nundinae cras in proximo pago habebuntur, itaque colona fructus et mustum venditura est.

Nundinae is one of those Latin nouns that is normally plural in form, even when it refers to a single recurring event.

A few useful points:

• nundinae is grammatically feminine plural
• it can mean:
  • the market day
  • the market
  • the fair
• because it is plural grammatically, the verb is plural too: habebuntur

So Latin treats it as they will be held, even though English often says the market will be held or there will be a market.

Habebuntur is the future passive indicative, 3rd person plural of habeo.

Form:

• habeo = I have, hold
• habebuntur = they will be held

In this sentence it is used idiomatically with nundinae:

• nundinae habebuntur = the market will be held
• more naturally in English: there will be a market

So this is a very common Latin way of expressing that an event is taking place.

Cras is simply an adverb meaning tomorrow.

It does not change form, and it is not connected to the verb by agreement or case.

So in:

• Nundinae cras... habebuntur

the word cras just tells you when the market will be held.

Because in here means in in the sense of location, not motion toward.

Latin uses:

• in + ablative = in / on a place, location
• in + accusative = into / onto a place, motion toward

Here the market is being held in the nearest village/district, so Latin uses the ablative:

• in proximo pago

Breakdown:

• proximo = ablative singular masculine of proximus
• pago = ablative singular of pagus

So together: in the nearest village/district or in the neighboring village/district.

Pagus usually means a rural district, village, or country community.

Depending on context, in proximo pago could be translated as:

• in the nearby village
• in the next district
• in the neighboring settlement

The exact English word can vary, but the basic idea is a local country community rather than a big city.

Itaque means and so, therefore, or so.

It introduces a result or conclusion based on the first clause:

• Nundinae cras in proximo pago habebuntur
• itaque ...
• So / therefore the female farmer is going to sell her produce and must

It is a very common connecting word in Latin prose.

Colona is a feminine noun meaning female farmer, female settler, or female colonist, depending on context.

It is the feminine counterpart of colonus.

Here it is the subject of venditura est, so it is in the nominative singular:

• colona = the female farmer

This is not unusual. Latin often has masculine and feminine forms for people’s roles or occupations.

They are the direct objects of venditura est, so they are in the accusative.

• fructus = accusative plural of a 4th-declension noun
• mustum = accusative singular of a 2nd-declension neuter noun

So:

• fructus = fruits / produce
• mustum = must, that is, freshly pressed grape juice or new wine before full fermentation

A learner often notices that fructus looks unusual. That is because 4th-declension nouns have some forms that look the same:

• nominative plural fructus
• accusative plural fructus

So here the function is clear from the sentence: it is the object, so it is accusative plural.

Venditura est is the future active participle plus a form of sum.

Breakdown:

• venditura = feminine nominative singular future active participle of vendo
• est = is

Together this is called the active periphrastic.

Its basic idea is:

• is going to sell
• intends to sell
• is about to sell

Since venditura agrees with colona, it is feminine singular nominative.

So:

• colona... venditura est = the female farmer is going to sell...

Both can refer to the future, but they are not exactly the same.

• vendet = she will sell
• venditura est = she is going to sell / intends to sell / is about to sell

So venditura est often adds a sense of:

• intention
• expectation
• something already planned or likely

In this sentence, that works well: because the market is tomorrow, the farmer is planning to sell her produce and must.

Because venditura agrees with colona, the subject.

• colona is nominative singular feminine
• therefore venditura must also be nominative singular feminine

If it were vendituram, that would be accusative singular feminine, which would not fit the subject here.

So the agreement is:

• colona ... venditura est

not:

• colona ... vendituram est

Yes. Latin word order is flexible, but it is not random.

A few things stand out here:

• Nundinae comes first because the sentence begins with the event being announced
• cras comes early to emphasize the time
• in proximo pago gives the location before the verb
• in the second clause, fructus et mustum come before venditura est, which is very natural in Latin
• the verb phrase venditura est comes at the end, giving the sentence a neat finish

So the order helps organize the information:

1. event
2. time
3. place
4. result
5. subject
6. what she will sell
7. verb

Yes. Fructus can mean fruits, but it can also mean produce, crops, or agricultural yield more generally.

So in this sentence it may mean:

• fruit in the narrow sense
• or more broadly the produce of the farm

That broader meaning is often the most natural here, especially since a farmer is taking goods to market.