Adversarius talum iacit.

The subject is adversarius and the object is talum.

• adversarius is in the nominative case, which is the case typically used for the subject.
• talum is in the accusative case, which is the case typically used for the direct object.
• iacit is the verb: throws.

So grammatically, the sentence is structured as:

• adversarius = the one doing the action
• talum = the thing being thrown

Because it is accusative singular.

The basic dictionary form is talus. When it is used as a direct object, it changes to talum.

This is a very common pattern for many second-declension masculine nouns:

• nominative singular: -us
• accusative singular: -um

For example:

• servus → servum
• amicus → amicum
• talus → talum

So talum shows that this noun is receiving the action of the verb.

iacit is:

• third person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

It comes from the verb iacio / iacere, meaning to throw.

So iacit means he throws, she throws, or it throws.

Because Latin verbs contain person and number, iacit already tells you that the subject is one person or thing doing the action in the present.

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

That means a noun like adversarius can mean, depending on context:

• the opponent
• an opponent
• sometimes just opponent

And talum can likewise mean:

• the die / knucklebone
• a die / knucklebone

English has to choose an article, but Latin usually leaves that to context.

Not as important as it is in English.

Latin uses case endings to show what each word is doing, so the sentence can often be rearranged without changing the basic meaning.

For example, these could all mean essentially the same thing:

• Adversarius talum iacit.
• Talum adversarius iacit.
• Iacit adversarius talum.

However, the word order can change the emphasis.

In this sentence, Adversarius talum iacit is a straightforward way to present it:

• subject first
• object next
• verb last

That verb-last order is very common in Latin.

Here, adversarius is a noun in the nominative singular.

It is a second-declension masculine form.

Although the word can also function as an adjective in some contexts, here it is clearly being used as a noun meaning something like opponent, adversary, or rival.

Because it is nominative singular, it matches the singular verb iacit.

Yes, it could, if the context made the subject clear.

Latin often omits subject pronouns and even subject nouns when they are not needed. Since iacit already means he/she/it throws, a sentence could simply say:

• Talum iacit. = He/She throws the die or is throwing the die, depending on context.

In your sentence, adversarius is included to make the subject explicit.

Because adversarius is the subject, not the object.

If it were adversarium, that would be accusative singular, which would normally make it the direct object.

Compare:

• adversarius = subject form
• adversarium = object form

So in Adversarius talum iacit, the endings tell you:

• adversarius = the thrower
• talum = the thing thrown

In a simple Classical Latin-style pronunciation, you could say it roughly as:

ad-ver-SAH-ree-oos TAH-loom YAH-kit

A few helpful points:

• v is pronounced like English w in Classical pronunciation
• i at the start of iacit works like y
• c is always hard, like k

So iacit sounds like YAH-kit, not like English jay-sit.

Not always in a strict one-word sense.

The present tense in Latin can often be translated in more than one natural English way, depending on context:

• throws
• is throwing
• sometimes even does throw

So Adversarius talum iacit could be understood as:

• The opponent throws the die
• The opponent is throwing the die

The exact English wording depends on the situation, but the Latin form is still the same: present active indicative.