Breakdown of Cum pater e taberna egressus est, matri panem recentem ostendit.
pater
the father
mater
to the mother
panis
the bread
taberna
the shop
Questions & Answers about Cum pater e taberna egressus est, matri panem recentem ostendit.
Why does the sentence begin with cum?
Here cum means when and introduces a time clause.
So Cum pater e taberna egressus est means when the father went out of the shop or after the father had gone out of the shop, depending on how smoothly you want to express it in English.
In Latin, cum can have several meanings, such as when, since, or although, so learners often need to decide which one fits the context. In this sentence, it is clearly temporal: when.
Why is egressus est two words, and why does it mean went out?
Egressus est is the perfect tense of the verb egredior, meaning go out or step out.
This verb is deponent, which means:
- it has passive-looking forms
- but it has an active meaning
So although egressus est looks a bit like has been gone out, it actually means went out or has gone out.
Its parts are:
- egressus = perfect participle form
- est = is/has as an auxiliary
Together they form the perfect tense of a deponent verb.
Why is it egressus and not some other form like egressa or ?