Dum serva atrium verrit, pulvis non surgit, sed scopa ipsa luto sordida fit.

Here dum means while. It introduces a clause describing something happening at the same time as the main action:

• Dum serva atrium verrit = While the maid sweeps the atrium

In Latin, dum very often introduces a temporal clause like this one.

All three main verbs are in the present tense because the sentence describes actions as if they are happening now, or as a general scene:

• verrit = sweeps
• surgit = rises
• fit = becomes

With dum meaning while, Latin commonly uses the present indicative to describe an action going on at the same time as another action.

Serva is nominative singular feminine. It is the subject of verrit.

So:

• serva = the female slave, slave-girl, or maid

A native English speaker may naturally think of slave first, but in a household context maid can fit the sense well.

Atrium is the direct object of verrit.

• verrit = sweeps
• What does she sweep? atrium

So atrium is accusative singular, because it receives the action of the verb.

Verrit is the 3rd person singular present active indicative of verro, verrere, meaning to sweep.

So:

• verrit = she sweeps or is sweeping

Because the subject is serva, the form is singular: one maid is doing the sweeping.

Pulvis is the subject of surgit.

• pulvis = dust
• surgit = rises

So pulvis non surgit means the dust does not rise.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order. You do not identify the subject only by position; you identify it by sense and by the verb. Here pulvis is nominative singular, so it naturally works as the subject.

Yes. Surgit literally means rises.

In this sentence, pulvis non surgit means that the dust does not get stirred up into the air. So a very literal translation is the dust does not rise, but a more natural English understanding might be the dust does not fly up.

Sed means but, and ipsa adds emphasis:

• scopa = the broom
• ipsa = itself

So sed scopa ipsa means but the broom itself.

The point is contrast:

• the dust does not rise,
• but the broom itself gets dirty.

The word ipsa is not required for basic grammar, but it adds stress and makes the contrast stronger.

Sordida is a predicate adjective agreeing with scopa.

• scopa is feminine singular
• therefore sordida must also be feminine singular

So:

• scopa ... sordida fit = the broom becomes dirty

Even though sordida is separated from scopa, they still belong together grammatically.

Luto is the ablative singular of lutum, meaning mud.

Here the ablative expresses what the broom becomes dirty with or from:

• luto sordida fit = becomes dirty with mud / becomes muddy

A native English speaker often expects a preposition such as with, but Latin often uses the ablative without a preposition in this kind of idea.

This is an important difference.

• est = is
• fit = becomes, comes to be

So:

• scopa sordida est = the broom is dirty
• scopa sordida fit = the broom becomes dirty

In this sentence, the idea is change of state: the broom was not dirty before, but as the maid sweeps, it becomes dirty.

To an English speaker, yes, it may feel unusual, but it is normal Latin.

The sentence is:

• Dum serva atrium verrit, pulvis non surgit, sed scopa ipsa luto sordida fit.

Latin often places words in an order that highlights emphasis rather than following a fixed English-style pattern. For example:

• scopa ipsa keeps the broom itself together for emphasis
• luto sordida fit places luto before sordida to help build the description
• the verb often comes later than it would in English

So the word order is flexible, but the endings show how the words relate to one another.

Yes. Dum can have several related meanings depending on context, such as:

• while
• as long as
• until

But in this sentence, the meaning is clearly while, because it introduces an action happening at the same time as the main clause:

• While the maid sweeps the atrium, the dust does not rise...