Cum magistra in schola docet, discipuli tacent.

When the (female) teacher teaches in the school, the students are silent.

Breakdown of Cum magistra in schola docet, discipuli tacent.

• in: in
• discipulus: the student
• magistra: the female teacher
• schola: the school
• docere: to teach
• tacere: to be silent
• cum: when

Questions & Answers about Cum magistra in schola docet, discipuli tacent.

I learned that cum means with. Why does it mean when here?

Latin cum has two main uses:

1. Preposition (with):

   • Followed by a noun in the ablative case
   • Example: cum magistra = with the teacher

2. Conjunction (when / whenever / while / since):

   • Followed by a verb, introducing a clause
   • Example: cum magistra in schola docet = when the teacher teaches in the school

In your sentence, cum is followed by a full clause with a verb (docet), so it is a conjunction meaning when/whenever, not the preposition with.

How can I tell that magistra is the subject and not something like an object?

Clues that magistra is the subject:

1. Position in the clause: It appears right after cum and before the verb docet, which is a very typical place for a subject.
2. Ending: magistra is nominative singular feminine, the normal form for a subject of a verb.
3. Sense: The idea “the teacher teaches” makes natural sense; “(someone) teaches the teacher” would need magistram (accusative) for “teacher” as an object.

So magistra = the (female) teacher, subject of docet (she teaches).

What case is schola in here, and why is it in schola and not in scholam?

Schola after in can be either:

• Ablative: in schola = in/at the school (location, where?)
• Accusative: in scholam = into the school (motion, where to?)

In this sentence we have location, not motion:

• magistra in schola docet = the teacher teaches in/at the school

So schola is ablative. In the first declension, nominative (schola, “school” as subject) and ablative (scholā, “in/by/from the school”) are written the same in basic texts, but context and the preposition in (with the idea of “where?”) show it is ablative.

Why is it docet and not something like doceo or docent?

Docet comes from the verb doceō, docēre (to teach).

Present indicative forms (singular):

• 1st person: doceō = I teach
• 2nd person: docēs = you (sg.) teach
• 3rd person: docet = he / she / it teaches

In cum magistra in schola docet:

• Subject: magistra (she, the teacher)
• Verb: docet (she teaches / she is teaching)

So the correct form is 3rd person singular: docet.

What exactly does discipuli mean, and why does it end in -i?

Discipulus means pupil / student / disciple (usually masculine).

Its nominative forms:

• Singular: discipulus = a (male) student
• Plural: discipulī = students

So:

• discipulī is nominative plural masculine.
• It is the subject of tacent.

In the sentence, discipulī tacent = the students are silent / the students keep quiet.

Why is tacent plural while docet is singular?

They belong to different clauses and have different subjects:

• Clause 1 (introduced by cum):
  magistra in schola docet

  • Subject: magistra (she, singular)
  • Verb: docet (she teaches, 3rd person singular)

• Clause 2 (main clause):
  discipulī tacent

  • Subject: discipulī (they, plural)
  • Verb: tacent (they are silent, 3rd person plural)

Latin verbs must agree with their own subjects in person and number, even when another clause nearby has a different subject.

What does tacent really mean? Is it are silent, keep quiet, or are being quiet?

Tacent is the 3rd person plural present indicative of tacēre:

• Basic meaning: to be silent, to say nothing, to keep quiet

Possible English renderings:

• the students are silent
• the students keep quiet
• the students are being quiet

Latin present tense covers simple, progressive, and often habitual meanings. Context decides which English form sounds best. Here, something like:

• When the teacher teaches in the school, the students are quiet / keep quiet

captures the sense well.

Why is there no separate word for the in magistra and discipuli?

Latin has no articles:

• No the
• No a / an

Words like magistra and discipulī can be translated as:

• magistra = teacher, a teacher, or the teacher
• discipulī = students, the students, or some students

English articles are added in translation according to what sounds natural and what the context suggests. In this sentence, the teacher and the students are the most natural.

Does cum here mean when (once) or whenever / while? Is this a one-time event or a general rule?

With the present tense and cum + indicative, the clause usually gives a repeated or general situation:

• Cum magistra in schola docet, discipulī tacent can mean:
  • Whenever the teacher teaches in the school, the students are quiet, or
  • When the teacher teaches in the school, the students are quiet (still sounds like a general rule)

So the Latin present here is naturally taken as a general habit, not just a single occasion.

Could the word order be different? For example, could I say Discipuli tacent, cum magistra in schola docet?

Yes. Latin word order is flexible, especially with clauses. Both are acceptable:

• Cum magistra in schola docet, discipulī tacent.
• Discipulī tacent, cum magistra in schola docet.

The meaning is essentially the same:

• When the teacher teaches in the school, the students are quiet.
• The students are quiet when the teacher teaches in the school.

Putting the cum-clause first or last mainly changes emphasis / flow, not the core meaning.

Is cum magistra in schola docet a time clause or a cause clause? Could it also mean since the teacher teaches?

Here it is clearly a temporal (time) clause:

• cum
  • indicative (like docet) very often = when / whenever / while in a straightforward, factual sense.
• The context fits “when the teacher teaches”, not “since the teacher teaches”.

Latin can use cum with the subjunctive to mean since / because / although, but that is not what you have here. In this sentence, read it as:

• When / whenever the teacher teaches in the school, the students are quiet.

Why is there a comma after docet? Is that important grammatically?

The comma is a modern punctuation convention to show the boundary between:

• the subordinate clause: cum magistra in schola docet
• the main clause: discipulī tacent

Classical Latin manuscripts often had little or no punctuation, so the grammar is really shown by endings and conjunctions, not by commas. The comma just makes it easier for modern readers to see where one clause ends and the other begins.