Tempestas funem rumpit.

In this sentence, tempestas is the subject and funem is the direct object.

• tempestas is in the nominative singular, which is the case normally used for the subject.
• funem is in the accusative singular, which is the case normally used for the direct object.

So Latin grammar, not just word order, tells you who is doing the action and what is receiving it.

Because it is the direct object of the verb rumpit, it has to be in the accusative case.

The noun’s basic form is funis. In this sentence, the accusative singular is funem.

So:

• funis = the rope, as a dictionary form
• funem = the rope, when it is the direct object

This is a very common thing in Latin: nouns change their endings depending on their job in the sentence.

It actually is already in the correct form for its job. Tempestas is the nominative singular, which is the form used for the subject.

For this noun, the nominative singular happens to be tempestas. So the subject form looks like the dictionary form here.

That means:

• tempestas = subject form, the storm
• if it had a different grammatical job, it could have a different ending

Rumpit is:

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

It comes from the verb rumpo, rumpere, meaning to break.

The -it ending tells you he/she/it breaks or is breaking. Since the subject is tempestas, the verb is translated as the storm breaks.

Because the subject, tempestas, is singular.

In Latin, verbs agree with their subjects in person and number. Since tempestas means one storm, the verb must also be singular:

• tempestas rumpit = the storm breaks
• if the subject were plural, the verb would need a plural ending

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammar.

So all of these would mean basically the same thing:

• Tempestas funem rumpit
• Funem tempestas rumpit
• Rumpit tempestas funem

The differences are mostly about emphasis or style, not basic meaning.

Still, the order in your sentence is very normal and clear:

• subject first
• object next
• verb last

That pattern is very common in Latin.

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

So tempestas can mean:

• a storm
• the storm

And funem can mean:

• a rope
• the rope

You decide from the context which English article makes the most sense.

They are usually given as:

• tempestas, tempestatis = storm
• funis, funis = rope
• rumpo, rumpere, rupi, ruptum = break

For nouns, Latin dictionaries usually give:

• the nominative singular
• the genitive singular

For verbs, they usually give several principal parts, because you need them to build different forms.

Both are third-declension nouns.

• tempestas, tempestatis is a third-declension feminine noun.
• funis, funis is also a third-declension noun, usually masculine.

This matters because third-declension nouns often have forms that are less predictable than first- or second-declension nouns, so it is important to learn their principal forms carefully.

Yes. Rumpit is in the present tense, and Latin present tense can often be translated in more than one way in English, depending on context.

So rumpit can be:

• breaks
• is breaking

Both are possible English translations of the Latin present.

Tempestas is feminine in Latin.

But that does not mean you should translate it as she in normal English. Grammatical gender in Latin is just part of how nouns behave grammatically.

In this sentence, the gender does not change the English meaning. It would matter more if there were adjectives or pronouns agreeing with tempestas.

A common classroom pronunciation would be roughly:

tem-PES-tahs FOO-nem ROOM-pit

More carefully:

• tempestas = tem-pes-tas
• funem = foo-nem
• rumpit = room-pit

Exact pronunciation can vary depending on whether you are using a reconstructed classical pronunciation or an ecclesiastical one, but this gives a good starting point.