Questions & Answers about Hodie caelum clarum est.
- Hodie = today
- caelum = sky (also heaven in some contexts)
- clarum = clear, bright (here describing the sky)
- est = is
So a very literal translation is: “Today sky clear is.”
Latin word order is flexible. Hodie caelum clarum est and Hodie caelum est clarum mean the same thing.
Some points:
- Hodie usually comes early, like English today.
- The verb est often appears at the end of the sentence, but it doesn’t have to.
- Adjectives like clarum can come either before or after the noun they describe (caelum clarum or clarum caelum).
Here the sentence ends with est, which is very natural Latin.
Because they are both neuter singular nominative:
- caelum is a neuter noun, 2nd declension, nominative singular.
- clarum is the neuter nominative singular form of the adjective clarus, clara, clarum (“clear, bright, famous”).
In Latin, adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:
- gender (here: neuter),
- number (singular),
- case (nominative).
So caelum (N sg n.) → clarum (N sg n.).
Because clarus is the masculine nominative singular form, but caelum is neuter.
The forms of clarus are:
- Masculine: clarus
- Feminine: clara
- Neuter: clarum
Since caelum is neuter, the adjective must also be neuter: clarum.
clarus caelum is ungrammatical.
caelum is in the nominative case, singular.
Reasons:
- It is the subject of the verb est (“is”).
- In a simple “X is Y” sentence, both X and Y are normally in the nominative.
So caelum (subject) and clarum (predicate adjective) are both nominative.
Classical Latin has no separate words for “the” or “a/an”.
Nouns appear without articles, and context tells you whether to translate with “the” or “a”:
- caelum can be “the sky” or “a sky” (though “a sky” is unusual in English).
- Hodie caelum clarum est is naturally translated as “The sky is clear today.”
Latin simply doesn’t mark definiteness the way English does.
Yes, quite often caelum can be understood as “the sky” or more generally “the weather.”
So depending on context, you might translate:
- “The sky is clear today,” or
- “The weather is clear today,” or “It’s a clear day today.”
Latin is focusing on the sky, while English often shifts focus to “weather” or just “it is …”.
You can omit est in many Latin sentences, and it will still be understood.
- Hodie caelum clarum est → full form.
- Hodie caelum clarum → still understandable as “The sky is clear today.”
However:
- In very basic learner Latin or very formal prose, it is common and safe to keep est.
- In poetry or rapid speech, the verb “to be” is very often left out.
One common Classical-style pronunciation:
- Hodie → HOH-dee-eh
- caelum → KAI-lum (like English kai in sky)
- clarum → KLAH-rum (with a short, open a)
- est → est (like English est in estuary)
So the whole sentence: HOH-dee-eh KAI-lum KLAH-rum est.
In Ecclesiastical (Church) Latin:
- caelum is often pronounced like CHEH-loom.
The dictionary form is clarus, -a, -um.
Main meanings:
- clear (sky, water, sound),
- bright, shining,
- loud (for sound),
- famous, renowned (for people or reputation).
In Hodie caelum clarum est, the context is a description of the sky, so “clear / bright” fits best.
Hodie is an adverb, not a noun or adjective, so it does not change its form.
- Nouns and adjectives have cases and endings.
- Adverbs like hodie (today), cras (tomorrow), heri (yesterday) stay the same in every sentence.
So you will always see hodie, regardless of context.
Yes, both are correct Latin and mean the same thing:
- Caelum hodie clarum est
- Caelum clarum est hodie
- Hodie caelum clarum est
Latin relies more on endings than on word order, so all these are understandable. The differences are mostly in emphasis / style, not in basic meaning.