Amicus opem dat.

• Amicus is the subject: the friend
• opem is the direct object: help or aid
• dat is the verb: gives

So the sentence is structured as:

subject + object + verb

That is very common in Latin, although other word orders are also possible.

Because amicus is in the nominative singular, the case normally used for the subject of a sentence.

Here, amicus means friend in the form a friend or the friend, depending on context.

It is from the noun:

• amicus, amici = friend

Because opem is the accusative singular form, which is used for the direct object.

The basic dictionary form is:

• ops, opis = help, aid, assistance

But in this sentence, help is what is being given, so Latin puts it in the accusative:

• nominative: ops
• accusative: opem

So opem dat literally means gives help.

Dat is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• active voice
• indicative mood

It comes from the verb:

• do, dare, dedi, datus = to give

So dat means:

• he gives
• she gives
• it gives

In this sentence, since amicus is singular, dat must also be singular: the friend gives.

Latin has no articles like English the or a/an.

So amicus can mean:

• a friend
• the friend

and opem can mean:

• help
• the help

The exact choice in English depends on context.

Yes. Opem dare is a very common Latin way to say to give help, to offer aid, or simply to help.

So even though it is literally give help, it often functions much like the English verb help.

That means Amicus opem dat can naturally be understood as:

• A friend gives help
• The friend offers aid
• A friend helps

Latin often places the verb near the end of the sentence, especially in simple statements.

So Amicus opem dat is very natural Latin word order.

But because Latin uses case endings, the order can change without destroying the meaning. For example, these would still mean roughly the same thing:

• Amicus opem dat
• Opem amicus dat
• Dat amicus opem

The endings, not just the order, tell you who is doing what.

In some contexts, amicus can be an adjective meaning friendly or friendly to, but here it is clearly being used as a noun meaning friend.

You can tell because it stands by itself as the subject of the sentence.

You know from the case endings and the verb ending:

• amicus is nominative, so it is the doer
• opem is accusative, so it receives the action
• dat is he/she/it gives, matching a singular subject

So the sentence cannot mean help gives a friend. The forms show that the friend is the one giving.

No. Latin often leaves subject pronouns out because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

Here, dat already means he/she/it gives, so a separate pronoun is unnecessary.

If Latin wanted extra emphasis, it could add a pronoun, but normally it does not need one.

A useful set of takeaways would be:

• amicus, amici = friend
• ops, opis = help, aid
• opem = accusative singular of ops
• do, dare = to give
• dat = gives
• opem dare = to give help / to help

This sentence is also a good example of an important Latin pattern:

nominative subject + accusative object + finite verb