Magistra responsum discipulae probat, quia verum est.

Because magistra is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject of a sentence.

• magistra = the teacher (female teacher)
• It is the person doing the action of probat = approves

So magistra probat means the teacher approves.

Because it is the direct object of probat.

The verb probare means to approve or to consider good/right, and the thing being approved goes in the accusative case.

• responsum = answer
• responsum probat = she approves the answer

So:

• magistra = subject
• responsum = direct object

Here discipulae is most naturally genitive singular, meaning of the student or the student’s.

So:

• responsum discipulae = the student’s answer / the answer of the student

This is a very common use of the genitive: showing possession or association.

A learner may notice that discipulae could also be dative singular, nominative plural, or vocative plural in other contexts. That is true. Latin forms are often ambiguous by themselves, so you use the sentence context to decide.

Here, the genitive makes the best sense.

Latin does not have definite or indefinite articles like English the or a/an.

So:

• magistra can mean teacher, a teacher, or the teacher
• responsum can mean answer, an answer, or the answer

You figure out the best English translation from the context.

Because verum agrees with the thing that is true, and that thing is responsum.

• responsum is neuter singular
• so the adjective must also be neuter singular
• therefore: verum

Even though magistra and discipula are feminine nouns, verum is not describing them. It is describing the answer.

So quia verum est means because it is true, where it refers to responsum.

Latin often leaves out pronouns when the meaning is clear from context.

In quia verum est, the subject is understood:

• (responsum) verum est = the answer is true

Latin does not need to repeat responsum, because the listener can easily understand what verum refers to.

This is very normal in Latin.

Quia means because. It introduces a clause giving the reason.

So the sentence breaks down like this:

• Magistra responsum discipulae probat = The teacher approves the student’s answer
• quia verum est = because it is true

Together: the second part explains why the teacher approves it.

Because its understood subject is responsum, which is singular.

• responsum = one answer
• therefore est = is

If the subject were plural, Latin would use a plural verb form.

Probat is:

• present tense
• third person singular
• active voice
• from the verb probare

So it means:

• he/she/it approves
• in this sentence: she approves, because the subject is magistra

Yes and no.

Latin word order is more flexible than English because the case endings show the grammatical roles. So Latin does not depend on word order as heavily as English does.

This sentence has a fairly straightforward order:

• Magistra = subject
• responsum discipulae = object phrase
• probat = verb
• quia verum est = reason clause

English must say something like The teacher approves the student’s answer, but Latin could rearrange the words more freely and still keep the same basic meaning, for example:

• Responsum discipulae magistra probat
• Magistra probat responsum discipulae

The endings help you see who is doing what.

Grammatically, discipulae could be dative singular in some sentences. But here that is probably not the intended meaning.

If it were dative, the phrase would suggest something like the teacher approves the answer for/to the student, which is less natural here.

Because the sentence is normally understood as the teacher approves the student’s answer, discipulae is best taken as genitive singular.

So this is a good example of how context helps you choose between possible case meanings.

Because the adjective is being used predicatively with est.

• verum = true
• est = is

So verum est means is true.

This is like English:

• The answer is true

not

• The answer is a true thing

Latin often uses adjectives this way after forms of esse.

In this sentence, responsum means answer or reply.

It comes from the verb respondere = to answer, reply.

A learner may notice that English often uses answer in school contexts, and that fits well here: the student’s answer. In other contexts, responsum can also feel more like a reply or response. The exact English word depends on context.