Breakdown of Dum pluvia cadit, populus ante portam exspectat; deinde omnes per portam intrant.
Questions & Answers about Dum pluvia cadit, populus ante portam exspectat; deinde omnes per portam intrant.
Dum means while (or as long as) and introduces a temporal clause:
- Dum pluvia cadit = While the rain is falling / While it is raining.
It sets the time frame for the main action: populus ante portam exspectat (the people wait in front of the gate). In Classical Latin, dum with a present indicative often corresponds to an English progressive tense (is falling, is waiting).
Latin does not have a special continuous or progressive tense like English (is falling, are waiting). The simple present often does the same job.
- cadit = falls / is falling
- exspectat = waits / is waiting
With dum, the present very often implies an ongoing or simultaneous action, so English naturally translates it with is falling or is raining.
Yes. Latin commonly uses the impersonal verb pluit = it is raining / it rains.