Cives decernunt pontem ante hiemem reficiendum esse.

The main clause is:

• Cives decernunt = the citizens decide

Then Latin adds what they decide by using an indirect statement:

• pontem ... reficiendum esse = that the bridge must be repaired

So the whole sentence is:

• main statement: the citizens decide
• indirect statement: that the bridge must be repaired before winter

A very literal breakdown is:

• Cives = citizens
• decernunt = decide
• pontem = the bridge
• ante hiemem = before winter
• reficiendum esse = to be needing repair / to have to be repaired

Because it is the subject of an indirect statement.

In Latin, when a verb like decide, say, think, know, or hear introduces a reported statement, Latin often uses the accusative + infinitive construction. In that construction:

• the subject of the reported statement goes into the accusative
• the verb of the reported statement goes into the infinitive

So here:

• pontem is the logical subject of reficiendum esse
• but because it is inside an indirect statement, it appears in the accusative

If this were a direct standalone statement, you would expect something like:

• pons reficiendus est = the bridge must be repaired

But after decernunt, that becomes:

• pontem reficiendum esse = that the bridge must be repaired

Reficiendum is the gerundive of reficere, which means to repair, to rebuild, or to restore.

The gerundive is a verbal adjective that often expresses necessity or obligation. So:

• reficiendus, -a, -um = needing to be repaired, to be repaired, that must be repaired

Here it agrees with pontem, so it is:

• masculine
• singular
• accusative

because pontem is masculine singular accusative.

So pontem reficiendum means something like:

• the bridge as needing repair
• more naturally, the bridge must be repaired

Because Latin normally expresses this idea with the passive periphrastic, which is:

• gerundive + form of esse

This construction shows obligation or necessity.

For example:

• pons reficiendus est = the bridge must be repaired

In indirect statement, the finite verb est becomes the infinitive esse:

• pontem reficiendum esse = that the bridge must be repaired

So esse is there because the full idea is not just repairing, but being in a state of needing repair.

Because reficere would mean simply to repair, not must be repaired.

Compare:

• pontem reficere = to repair the bridge
• pontem reficiendum esse = that the bridge must be repaired

The sentence is not just about the action of repairing. It expresses a decision that something ought to be done. The gerundive construction is the natural Latin way to show that necessity.

Ante is a preposition meaning before, and it takes the accusative case.

So:

• hiems = winter
• hiemem = winter in the accusative
• ante hiemem = before winter

This phrase gives a time limit or deadline for the repair.

In sense, it most naturally goes with reficiendum esse:

• the bridge must be repaired before winter

That is, the citizens are deciding on the timing of the repair.

It is grammatically possible to think of it with the whole idea of deciding, but the natural interpretation is that before winter tells us when the repair must be completed, not when the decision is made.

Decernunt is:

• 3rd person plural
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

from decernere, meaning to decide, to determine, to decree

So cives decernunt means:

• the citizens decide
• or depending on context, are deciding

Here it introduces the indirect statement pontem ... reficiendum esse.

Yes. It is still an indirect statement in terms of structure.

The structure is:

• accusative subject: pontem
• infinitive verb phrase: reficiendum esse

The fact that the infinitive phrase contains a gerundive of obligation does not change the syntax. It is still the thing that the citizens decide.

So the sentence means:

• The citizens decide that the bridge must be repaired before winter

not just:

• The citizens decide to repair the bridge

That would be a different idea.

The sentence does not explicitly say.

The passive periphrastic tells us that the bridge must be repaired, but it leaves the agent unstated. Latin can express the person responsible with dative of agent in this construction, but there is no such dative here.

So the meaning is simply that the citizens decide on the necessity of the repair, without naming who will do it.

A very literal translation would be:

• The citizens decide the bridge to be needing repair before winter

That is awkward English, but it helps show the Latin structure.

A better natural English translation is:

• The citizens decide that the bridge must be repaired before winter.

You could also say:

• The citizens decide that the bridge is to be repaired before winter.

The second version is closer to the Latin wording, while the first is usually better English.

That would mean something more like:

• The citizens decide to repair the bridge before winter
• or The citizens decide that they will repair the bridge before winter

That version focuses on the action of repairing.

But pontem ante hiemem reficiendum esse means:

• the bridge must be repaired before winter

That focuses on necessity/obligation, not on who will perform the action.

So the actual sentence is less personal and more formal or administrative in tone.

You should notice that reficiendum agrees with pontem.

Both are:

• masculine
• singular
• accusative

This is because the gerundive is an adjective and must agree with the noun it modifies.

So:

• pontem = accusative singular masculine
• reficiendum = accusative singular masculine

That agreement helps show that the bridge is the thing that must be repaired.