Magistra discipulos iubet verba nova in commentario conscribere.

Magistra is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject of a sentence. It also matches iubet, which is third-person singular: the teacher orders.

So the basic backbone is:

magistra iubet = the teacher orders

Iubet is the third-person singular present active indicative of iubeo, meaning to order, to command, or to tell someone to do something.

So:

• iubeo = I order
• iubet = he/she orders

Here it means she orders, because magistra is feminine.

They are accusative for different reasons.

• discipulos is the person being ordered
• verba nova is the thing being written down

With iubere, Latin often uses this pattern:

person + infinitive

So in this sentence:

• magistra discipulos iubet = the teacher orders the students
• verba nova conscribere = to write down the new words

A helpful way to see it in English is:

The teacher orders the students to write down the new words.

In that English sentence, the students are both:

• the object of orders
• the ones who do the writing

Latin expresses that neatly with discipulos plus the infinitive conscribere.

Because after iubet, Latin uses an infinitive to show what action is being ordered.

So:

• iubet = orders
• conscribere = to write down

Together:

discipulos ... conscribere iubet = she orders the students to write down ...

This is very normal Latin. English uses to write; Latin uses the infinitive conscribere.

Because verba is a neuter plural noun, and nova has to agree with it.

Here are the forms:

• verbum = word
• verba = words
• novus, nova, novum = new

Since verba is:

• neuter
• plural
• accusative here

the adjective must also be:

• neuter
• plural
• accusative

That gives nova.

So:

verba nova = new words

A useful reminder: for many neuter nouns in Latin, the plural nominative and accusative end in -a.

Because in with the ablative usually means in or on in the sense of location.

So:

• in commentario = in the notebook / in the exercise book

If Latin wanted to show movement into something, in would usually take the accusative instead.

So the contrast is:

• in + ablative = location
• in + accusative = motion into

Here the words are being written in the notebook, so the ablative is correct.

Here it most likely means notebook, exercise book, or written notes.

Even though English commentary looks similar, Latin commentarium/commentarius can have a wider range of meanings, such as:

• notebook
• memorandum
• notes
• commentary

In a classroom sentence like this, notebook or exercise book is the most natural meaning.

Because Latin has no articles. It does not have separate words for the or a/an.

So magistra can mean:

• a teacher
• the teacher

and discipulos can mean:

• students
• the students

Context tells you which is best in English. When translating, you add the or a if it makes the English natural.

Yes. Latin word order is more flexible than English because the endings show what each word is doing.

This sentence could be rearranged in several ways without changing the core meaning very much. For example, Latin can move words around for emphasis or style.

Still, the given order is very natural:

• magistra first: the subject
• discipulos early: the people being ordered
• iubet: the main verb
• verba nova in commentario conscribere: the action ordered

So the order is not random, but it is not as fixed as English word order.

Scribere simply means to write.

Conscribere often means something like:

• to write down
• to record
• to set down in writing
• sometimes to compose or draw up

In this sentence, conscribere suggests more than just making marks on a page. It gives the sense of writing the new words down carefully in the notebook.

So conscribere is a very suitable verb for a classroom context.