Puer rogat unde sonus veniat; avus respondet aquam de monte ad fontem currere.

The boy asks where the sound comes from; grandfather answers that water runs from the mountain to the spring.

Breakdown of Puer rogat unde sonus veniat; avus respondet aquam de monte ad fontem currere.

• puer: the boy
• aqua: the water
• ad: to
• venire: to come

Questions & Answers about Puer rogat unde sonus veniat; avus respondet aquam de monte ad fontem currere.

Why is veniat used instead of venit?

Because unde sonus veniat is an indirect question after rogat.

In Latin, indirect questions normally use the subjunctive, so:

• veniat = present subjunctive
• not venit = indicative

Compare:

• Unde sonus venit? = a direct question: Where does the sound come from?
• Puer rogat unde sonus veniat. = an indirect question: The boy asks where the sound comes from.

So the subjunctive here is not making the idea unreal; it is simply the normal grammar for an indirect question.

What does unde mean here?

Unde means from where or where ... from.

That is different from:

• ubi = where (location)
• quo = to where / where ... to
• unde = from where / where ... from

So:

• unde sonus veniat = where the sound is coming from

This fits well with venire, since English also often says come from.