Tessera triangula est.

The mosaic cube is triangular.

Breakdown of Tessera triangula est.

• esse: to be
• tessera: the small mosaic cube
• triangulus: triangular

Questions & Answers about Tessera triangula est.

What is the grammatical role of each word in Tessera triangula est?

• tessera is the subject: the thing being talked about.
• triangula is an adjective describing the subject.
• est means is.

So the structure is essentially:

subject + adjective + is

That is why the sentence means that the tessera is triangular.

Why does triangula end in -a?

Because it has to agree with tessera.

In Latin, adjectives usually match the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• tessera is feminine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative, which gives triangula.

Why isn’t it triangulus?