Aquarius prope aquaeductum laborat.

Not necessarily. It is capitalized here simply because it is the first word of the sentence.

In this sentence, aquarius is most naturally understood as a common noun, meaning something like water-carrier or waterman, not the zodiac sign. Latin texts in modern editions usually capitalize the first word of a sentence even if it is not a proper name.

Aquarius is nominative singular. That means it is the subject of the sentence: the person who is doing the action.

Its dictionary form is also aquarius, so the form you see here is the basic singular subject form.

Laborat comes from the verb laborare, meaning to work, to toil, or to labor.

The ending -t tells you it is:

• present tense
• third person singular
• active
• indicative

So laborat means he works, she works, or it works, depending on the subject. Here, since the subject is aquarius, it means the water-carrier works.

Because prope takes the accusative case when it is used as a preposition meaning near.

The dictionary form is aquaeductus (an aqueduct), but after prope it becomes aquaeductum, the accusative singular.

So:

• aquaeductus = the basic form
• aquaeductum = the form used here after prope

When prope is used as a preposition with a noun, yes, it takes the accusative.

So:

• prope aquaeductum = near the aqueduct

Latin learners often notice this because English near does not change the noun after it, but Latin does.

Also, prope can sometimes be used as an adverb meaning nearby, but in this sentence it is clearly a preposition.

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

So aquarius can mean:

• a water-carrier
• the water-carrier

And aquaeductum can mean:

• an aqueduct
• the aqueduct

Which one is best in translation depends on context.

Yes. Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammatical roles.

So these could all mean roughly the same thing:

• Aquarius prope aquaeductum laborat.
• Prope aquaeductum aquarius laborat.
• Laborat aquarius prope aquaeductum.

The difference is usually one of emphasis or style, not basic meaning.

• aquarius is a second-declension masculine noun
• aquaeductus is a fourth-declension masculine noun

In this sentence:

• aquarius = nominative singular
• aquaeductum = accusative singular

This is useful because English speakers often expect all nouns ending in -us to belong to the same pattern, but aquaeductus is actually fourth declension, not second.

In restored Classical pronunciation, it would be approximately:

ah-KWAH-ree-us PROH-peh ah-kwae-DOOK-tum lah-BOH-rat

A few helpful points:

• qu is pronounced like kw
• ae is usually pronounced like eye in Classical Latin
• c is always hard, like k
• t is always a clear t

So aquaeductum begins with a sound like ah-kwae-.

Yes. Latin often omits subject pronouns and even subject nouns when the meaning is clear from the verb ending or context.

Since laborat already means he/she works, Latin could simply say:

Prope aquaeductum laborat.
= He/She works near the aqueduct.

Adding aquarius makes the subject explicit: the water-carrier works near the aqueduct.

Not always. Laborare often means to work or to toil, but it can also have broader meanings such as to struggle or to suffer difficulties, depending on context.

In this sentence, though, the straightforward meaning is simply works or labors.