Canalis declivis est.

Canalis is nominative singular. It is the subject of est.

In a sentence built with to be (est), the thing being described is usually in the nominative, and the describing adjective is nominative too.

Because declivis has to agree with canalis.

It agrees in:

• case: nominative
• number: singular
• gender: masculine

Declivis is a third-declension adjective. Its masculine/feminine nominative singular form is declivis, while its neuter nominative singular form is declive.

Yes. Canalis is normally masculine in Latin.

That is why the adjective appears in the masculine/feminine form declivis, not the neuter form declive.

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

So Canalis declivis est can mean:

• the channel is sloping
• a channel is sloping

The context tells you which English translation fits best.

Here declivis is a predicate adjective.

That means it is not just attached to the noun inside a noun phrase; instead, it completes the statement with est:

• canalis declivis = a sloping channel or the sloping channel as a phrase
• canalis declivis est = the channel is sloping

So in this sentence, declivis is part of the predicate.

Because after est, a predicate adjective normally matches the subject rather than taking an object case.

There is no direct object here. The structure is:

• canalis = subject, nominative singular
• est = is
• declivis = adjective describing the subject, so also nominative singular

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

You could also see:

• Canalis est declivis
• Declivis canalis est

These do not change the basic meaning much, though they can shift emphasis or style.

Sometimes, yes. Latin often leaves out forms of esse when they are easy to understand, especially in poetry, inscriptions, or very compressed style.

So Canalis declivis could sometimes imply The channel is sloping, but for a clear beginner sentence, est is normally written.

You would usually look them up under these dictionary forms:

• canalis, -is = channel, canal
• declivis, -e = sloping, downhill, steep
• sum, esse = to be

So even though the sentence uses est, the dictionary form is sum.

In a common restored classical pronunciation, roughly:

kah-NAH-lis deh-KLEE-wis est

A few helpful points:

• c is always hard, like k
• v is pronounced like w in classical pronunciation
• the stress is on NAH in canalis
• the stress is on KLEE in declivis