Cum sol occidit, mater lucernam accendit.

When the sun sets, mother lights the lamp.

Breakdown of Cum sol occidit, mater lucernam accendit.

• mater: the mother
• sol: the sun
• lucerna: the lamp
• cum: when

Questions & Answers about Cum sol occidit, mater lucernam accendit.

What does cum mean here? I thought cum meant with.

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.

Why is occidit translated as sets?

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 , not .