In caelo multae nubes sunt, et pluvia lente cadit.

In the sky there are many clouds, and rain falls slowly.

Breakdown of In caelo multae nubes sunt, et pluvia lente cadit.

• esse: to be
• in: in
• et: and
• multus: many
• caelum: the sky
• lente: slowly
• nubes: the cloud
• pluvia: the rain
• cadere: to fall

Questions & Answers about In caelo multae nubes sunt, et pluvia lente cadit.

Why is caelo used instead of caelum in in caelo?

The basic noun is caelum (neuter, nominative singular), meaning sky or heaven.

Latin prepositions can take different cases. In has two main patterns:

• in
  • accusative = into (movement toward)
• in
  • ablative = in, on (rest in a place)

In this sentence, the idea is in the sky (location, not movement), so in takes the ablative case, and caelum becomes caelo (ablative singular).
So in caelo literally means in the sky.

What is the subject of sunt, and why is it plural?

The subject of sunt is multae nubes.

• nubes = clouds (here nominative plural, feminine)
• multae = many (adjective, nominative plural feminine, agreeing with nubes)
• sunt = they are / there are (third person plural of esse, to be)

Because nubes is plural (clouds), the verb sunt has to be plural as well.
So multae nubes sunt literally means many clouds are (which we translate more naturally as English there are many clouds).

Why is there no word for English there in there are many clouds?

Latin does not usually use a special word equivalent to English dummy there in there is / there are sentences.

Instead, Latin simply uses to be (est / sunt) with the noun:

• multae nubes sunt = many clouds are → English there are many clouds
• liber in mensa est = a book is on the table → there is a book on the table

So the idea of there is understood from the structure of the sentence, not from a separate word.

How do multae and nubes agree with each other?

In Latin, adjectives must agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case.

• nubes here is clouds:

  • gender: feminine
  • number: plural
  • case: nominative (subject)

• multae is the adjective many:

  • form multae is nominative plural feminine

So multae nubes is:

• many clouds (feminine)
• in the nominative plural (doing the action or being described)

Even though nubes looks the same in nominative singular and plural, the adjective multae shows us clearly that we are dealing with a plural (many clouds).

Could the word order be different, like multae nubes in caelo sunt? Is that still correct?

Yes, that is still correct Latin.

Latin word order is relatively flexible. All of these are grammatically fine and mean the same basic thing:

• In caelo multae nubes sunt
• Multae nubes in caelo sunt
• Multae nubes sunt in caelo

The usual, neutral position puts the verb sunt toward the end, but changing word order can slightly change emphasis:

• Starting with in caelo emphasizes in the sky.
• Starting with multae nubes emphasizes many clouds.

However, for a learner, all these versions are acceptable and understandable as there are many clouds in the sky.

What is pluvia, and why is it used instead of just a verb like pluit?

Pluvia is a noun, meaning rain.

Latin has two common ways to express raining:

1. Using the impersonal verb:

   • pluit = it is raining
     (literally: it rains; no explicit subject)

2. Using pluvia as a normal subject with a verb:

   • pluvia cadit = the rain falls

In et pluvia lente cadit, we are using the second pattern:

• pluvia = the rain (nominative singular, subject)
• cadit = falls (third person singular)

So the sentence literally says: and the rain falls slowly.
This is a bit more descriptive than the simpler pluit (it is raining).

Why is there no word for it in pluvia lente cadit?

In pluvia lente cadit, pluvia itself is the subject, so Latin has no need for a separate pronoun like English it.

• Latin: pluvia cadit = rain falls / the rain falls
• English often uses a dummy subject: it rains, it falls, etc., even when it does not refer to anything specific.

In Latin:

• If there is a clear subject (here pluvia), you simply use the noun and the verb.
• You do not add a pronoun like ea (she/it) in front of it.

So Latin is more direct: rain falls slowly, not it falls slowly.

What is lente grammatically, and why is it lente and not lenta?

Lente is an adverb, meaning slowly.

It comes from the adjective lentus, lenta, lentum (slow). Latin often forms adverbs from first–second declension adjectives by adding -e to the stem:

• lentus (slow, masculine) → lente (slowly)
• clarus (clear, bright) → clare (clearly, brightly)

Lenta would be an adjective form (feminine nominative singular), meaning slow describing a feminine noun, for example:

• pluvia lenta = slow rain

But in pluvia lente cadit, we are describing how the rain falls (slowly), so we need an adverb (lente), not an adjective (lenta).

Why is the verb cadit singular?

Cadit is third person singular because its subject, pluvia, is singular.

• pluvia = rain (nominative singular)
• cadit = falls (he/she/it falls)

Latin verbs must agree with their subjects in number (singular/plural) and person.
So we have:

• multae nubes sunt

  • subject: multae nubes (plural)
  • verb: sunt (third plural)

• pluvia lente cadit

  • subject: pluvia (singular)
  • verb: cadit (third singular)

Does in caelo mean in the sky or in heaven, or both?

The noun caelum can mean both sky and heaven, depending on context.

• Everyday, literal context: in caelo = in the sky
• Religious, philosophical, or poetic context: in caelo can be understood as in heaven

In this particular sentence, because we are speaking about clouds and rain, the natural translation is in the sky.
The Latin expression itself, however, could be used for either idea in a different context.