Pavimentum sectile est.

Pavimentum is nominative singular neuter.

Why?

• It is a 2nd-declension neuter noun.
• In the nominative singular, many 2nd-declension neuter nouns end in -um.
• In a sentence with est, the nominative noun is typically the subject.

So here pavimentum is the subject: the floor / pavement.

Because sectile has to agree with pavimentum.

The adjective’s dictionary form is sectilis, sectile:

• sectilis = masculine/feminine nominative singular
• sectile = neuter nominative singular

Since pavimentum is neuter singular, the adjective must also be neuter singular, so Latin uses sectile.

Yes. Here sectile is an adjective, not a noun.

It is being used as a predicate adjective, which means it comes with est and says something about the subject:

• pavimentum = the subject
• est = is
• sectile = an adjective describing the subject

So the structure is basically:

subject + predicate adjective + linking verb

Est is the 3rd person singular present indicative of esse, meaning to be.

So est means is.

Its job here is to link the subject pavimentum with the adjective sectile. That is why this is called a linking verb or copula.

Yes. Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

So all of these could work:

• Pavimentum sectile est
• Pavimentum est sectile
• Sectile pavimentum est

The basic meaning stays the same, though word order can shift emphasis or style.

Putting est at the end is very normal in Latin.

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

So pavimentum can mean:

• a floor
• the floor

Which one is meant depends on the context.

English has to choose an article; Latin usually does not.

In Latin, agreement does not mean that the endings have to look the same. It means the words must match in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here both words are:

• neuter
• singular
• nominative

They just belong to different declensional patterns:

• pavimentum = a 2nd-declension neuter noun
• sectile = a 3rd-declension adjective in its neuter nominative singular form

So they agree grammatically even though their endings are different.

The dictionary forms are:

• pavimentum, pavimenti = floor, pavement; a neuter noun
• sectilis, sectile = cut, made by cutting, sectile; an adjective
• sum, esse = to be; est is one form of this verb

A learner will often see them listed that way in a dictionary or vocabulary list.

It is a copular sentence: a sentence built with a form of to be.

The pattern is:

• subject: pavimentum
• copula / linking verb: est
• predicate adjective: sectile

So Latin is saying that the subject is something or is a certain way.

Sometimes, yes.

Latin can omit forms of esse in some contexts, especially in:

• poetry
• headings
• short descriptions
• very compressed style

So Pavimentum sectile could sometimes appear without est if the context makes the meaning clear.

But in an ordinary full sentence, est is perfectly normal and often expected.

A rough Classical Latin pronunciation would be:

pa-wi-MEN-tum SEK-ti-le est

Helpful notes:

• v is pronounced like English w in Classical Latin
• c is always hard, like k
• the stress falls on -men- in pavimentum
• the stress falls on sec- / SEK- in sectile

If you are learning Ecclesiastical Latin, the pronunciation will be a little different, especially the v.