Cum sol occidit, mater lucernam accendit.

Here cum means when, not with.

Latin cum has two common uses:

• as a preposition: cum
  • ablative = with
    • example: cum amico = with a friend
• as a conjunction: cum
  • clause = when / since / although, depending on context

In Cum sol occidit, cum is followed by a whole clause, sol occidit, so it is a conjunction meaning when.

If it meant with here, you would expect a noun in the ablative, not a full clause.

Because here occidit comes from the verb occidere meaning to set or to go down, especially of the sun.

So:

• sol = sun
• occidit = sets / is setting

Together, sol occidit means the sun sets.

A learner may notice that occidit can also look like a form of another verb meaning kills. That is a real source of confusion. In this sentence, though, the subject is sol (the sun), so the meaning is clearly sets, not kills.

Occidit is:

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

That means it means he/she/it sets or is setting.

Since the subject is sol, which is singular, the verb is singular too:

• sol occidit = the sun sets

Because this is a straightforward temporal cum clause: when the sun sets.

Latin often uses cum + indicative for a simple statement of time. In other words, it is just telling you when the main action happens.

So:

• Cum sol occidit = When the sun sets

Latin also has cum clauses with the subjunctive, especially in narrative or more nuanced uses such as since or although, or in so-called circumstantial clauses. But this sentence is the simple time use, so the indicative is natural.

Because mater is the subject of accendit, so it is in the nominative case.

In the main clause:

• mater = subject
• lucernam = object
• accendit = verb

So the structure is:

• mater accendit = mother lights
• lucernam accendit = lights the lamp

If mater were matrem, it would be accusative, which would make it look like a direct object instead of the subject.

Because lucernam is accusative singular, the form used for the direct object.

The verb accendit means lights, and the thing being lit is the lamp:

• lucerna = lamp as a dictionary form / nominative singular
• lucernam = lamp as the direct object / accusative singular

So:

• mater lucernam accendit = mother lights the lamp

The ending -am is very common for first-declension feminine nouns in the accusative singular.

Accendit is:

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

from accendere, meaning to light, kindle, or set on fire.

Because the subject is mater, one person, the verb is singular:

• mater accendit = mother lights

Depending on context, a Latin present tense can sometimes be translated in different ways in English, such as:

• lights
• is lighting
• sometimes even lit in vivid narrative

But in a simple sentence like this, lights is the most straightforward.

Because Latin has no articles.

Latin does not have separate words for a, an, or the. So a noun like sol can mean:

• sun
• the sun

and lucernam can mean:

• a lamp
• the lamp

Context tells you which is most natural.

The same is true of mater. Depending on context, it could be understood as:

• mother
• the mother
• sometimes even his/her/my mother, if that is already clear from the situation

Latin word order is flexible, because the noun endings show what each word is doing.

This sentence has a very natural arrangement:

• Cum sol occidit = time clause first
• mater lucernam accendit = main clause after it

And inside the main clause, the object comes before the verb:

• mater lucernam accendit

That is a common Latin pattern.

You could change the order and still keep the basic meaning, for example:

• Mater, cum sol occidit, lucernam accendit

But changing word order can change emphasis or make the sentence sound less natural in a given context. Latin uses order more for style and focus than for basic grammar.

Yes. It has:

1. a subordinate clause:

   • Cum sol occidit = When the sun sets

2. a main clause:

   • mater lucernam accendit = mother lights the lamp

Each clause has its own subject and verb:

• sol
  • occidit
• mater
  • accendit

That is why this is a good example of how Latin joins ideas together with a conjunction like cum.

In a basic Classical pronunciation, you could say it approximately like this:

koom sole OK-ki-dit, MA-ter loo-KER-nam ak-KEN-dit

A few helpful points:

• c is always hard, like k
• u in cum sounds like oo
• v in Classical Latin sounds like w, though there is no v here
• r is rolled or tapped if possible
• vowels are usually clear and pure, not heavily reduced as in English

So:

• Cum = koom
• sol = sole
• occidit = ok-ki-dit
• mater = MA-ter
• lucernam = loo-KER-nam
• accendit = ak-KEN-dit

Even if your pronunciation is not perfect, the most important thing at first is to keep c hard and pronounce each vowel clearly.