Understanding Latin

Here is the easiest method to get the sense and make a good translation of a
Latin sentence:

Read through the complete sentence aloud in Latin, trying to grasp the
meaning of each word as you come to it. At the same time, try to get the
general idea of the whole sentence as you go along.

Be careful with your pronunciation; remember that there arent any silent
syllables, and pay particular attention to the endings of the words. Make your
ears help your eyes, and vice versa.

Often the meaning of the sentence will become clear from a single reading
aloud. But if a word stumps you, try to find a clue to its meaning from some
English word that has been formed from the Latin one such as insular from
insula. Use the vocabulary only as a last resort.

Since Latin hasnt any words for a, an, and the, you must supply them with
the nouns that need them in order to make your English translation smoother.
Est means not only is, but also he, she, or it is, and even there is.

Be patient with the Latin word order. English is much more strict about
making the sense of the sentence depend upon the word order. Compare
Dog bites man with Man bites dog. The word order in Latin is more flexible
because a word's ending, not its position, indicates its role in a sentence.
This principle of the change of word endings, called inflection, is the most
important concept to master. Unfamiliar vocabulary can often be worked out
(or, as a last resort, looked up) and the now strange word order will soon
seem natural. There isnt any short cut to learning the various endings,
which are the signposts of the sentence.

When you have read the whole sentence through and understand it, convert
it into the English that is natural to you. Try to be as exact as possible, but
do not stick blindly to the English meanings given in the vocabulary. Latin
has fewer words in its vocabulary than English does, so it is common for a
Latin word to have more than one English equivalent. Use synonyms
whenever they make better sense.

Keep in mind that your goal is to understand Latin as Latin, the way the
Romans did. Eventually Britannia insula est and Britain is an island will
have exactly the same meaning to you without the need for translation.