Urbs multas opes habet.

Habet is the third person singular form of habere (to have). Latin verbs change their endings to show who is doing the action.

So:

• habeo = I have
• habes = you have
• habet = he/she/it has
• habemus = we have
• habetis = you all have
• habent = they have

Since urbs is a singular thing, Latin uses habet: the city has.

Because multas has to agree with opes.

Opes is:

• feminine
• plural
• accusative

So the adjective multus (many, much) must also be:

• feminine
• plural
• accusative

That gives multas.

So:

• multi = masculine nominative plural
• multae = feminine nominative plural
• multas = feminine accusative plural

Since opes is the direct object of habet, the accusative is needed.

In Latin, opes is very commonly used as a plural noun meaning resources, wealth, riches, power. Even when English might use a singular word like wealth, Latin often uses the plural opes.

So multas opes means something like:

• many resources
• great wealth
• riches

This is normal Latin usage.

Opes is in the accusative plural because it is the direct object of habet.

Ask the question:

• What does the city have?
• multas opes

In Latin, the direct object usually goes in the accusative case.

Classical Latin has no definite article like English the, and no indefinite article like a/an. So urbs can mean:

• the city
• a city

The correct choice depends on context. If the meaning has already been given as The city has many resources or The city has great wealth, that comes from context rather than a separate Latin word.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because the endings show each word’s function.

So Urbs multas opes habet means the same basic thing as:

• Multas opes urbs habet
• Urbs habet multas opes
• Opes multas habet urbs

However, the usual order can affect emphasis or style. Putting habet at the end is very common in Latin prose, and multas opes together makes a neat noun phrase.

Yes. Latin often uses plural abstract nouns in ways that English translates more naturally with a singular expression. So multas opes habet can be understood idiomatically as:

• has great wealth
• is very wealthy
• has many resources

A very literal translation is useful for grammar, but a smoother English translation may sound different.

Urbs is a third-declension noun. Its dictionary form is usually given as:

• urbs, urbis — city

Some important forms are:

• nominative singular: urbs
• genitive singular: urbis
• accusative singular: urbem
• nominative plural: urbes
• accusative plural: urbes

In this sentence, urbs is nominative singular.

Yes. Ops, opis is a third-declension noun. In practice, learners very often meet it in the plural opes.

Some useful forms are:

• nominative singular: ops
• genitive singular: opis
• accusative singular: opem
• nominative plural: opes
• accusative plural: opes

In Urbs multas opes habet, opes is accusative plural.

There are two main clues:

1. Agreement
   Multas matches opes in gender, number, and case:

   • feminine
   • plural
   • accusative

2. Sense
   Many wealths/resources is a natural unit of meaning, so multas is clearly describing opes.

In Latin, adjectives often stand next to the nouns they describe, though they do not always have to.

A common classroom pronunciation would be:

OORBS MOOL-tahs OH-pays HAH-bet

In a more classical pronunciation:

• urbs = roughly oorbs
• multas = mool-taas
• opes = o-pays
• habet = ha-bet with h pronounced lightly

Stress:

• urbs — one syllable
• multas — stress on mul
• opes — stress on o
• habet — stress on ha

Yes, if the subject were understood from context. Since habet only tells you he/she/it has, Latin can sometimes omit the noun or pronoun when the listener already knows who or what is being discussed.

So:

• Multas opes habet = It has many resources / He has great wealth / She has great wealth

But adding urbs makes the subject explicit: The city has many resources.