Breakdown of Aqua e fistula stillat; aquarius eam claudit.
aqua
the water
claudere
to close
eam
it
e
out of / from
Questions & Answers about Aqua e fistula stillat; aquarius eam claudit.
Why is fistula used after e? Shouldn't the ending change?
Yes: e/ex takes the ablative case. The ablative singular of a first-declension noun is -ā, so with macrons this would be fistulā. Many beginner texts leave macrons out, so it appears simply as fistula. The case has changed, but you cannot see it unless vowel length is marked.
Why is it e and not ex?
E and ex are two forms of the same preposition. Both mean out of or from, and both take the ablative. Very often e is used before a consonant and ex before a vowel or h, though Latin is not completely strict about this.
What form is stillat?
Stillat is 3rd person singular present active indicative of stillare, meaning to drip or to trickle. It is singular because its subject, aqua, is singular.
Why is aqua at the beginning of the sentence?
Latin word order is much freer than English word order. Aqua is the subject because it is in the nominative, not simply because it comes first. Putting it first gives it prominence.