Cur tam diu ante ianuam moramini, cum cena iam parata sit?

Moramini is from moror, morari, moratus sum, a deponent verb. Deponent verbs use passive forms but have active meanings.

So:

• moramini looks like a passive 2nd person plural form
• but it actually means you delay, you linger, or you are waiting around

In this sentence, Cur tam diu ante ianuam moramini? means Why are you lingering so long in front of the door?

Moramini is:

• present tense
• 2nd person plural
• indicative mood
• from the deponent verb moror

So it means you (plural) are lingering / delaying.

The speaker is addressing more than one person.

Cur means why.

It often comes near the beginning of a question, just as why does in English:

• Cur venis? = Why are you coming?
• Cur tam diu ante ianuam moramini? = Why are you lingering so long in front of the door?

Latin word order is flexible, but placing cur early makes the question clear right away.

Tam diu means so long or for so long.

• tam = so
• diu = for a long time

Together they form a common expression of duration:

• tam diu manes = you stay so long
• tam diu moramini = you linger so long

Ante means before or in front of, and it normally takes the accusative case.

So:

• ante ianuam = in front of the door

Here ianuam is accusative singular because it is the object of the preposition ante.

By contrast:

• in ianua would mean something like on/in the doorway/door, depending on context, and it uses a different preposition with a different meaning.

So ante ianuam is the natural way to say in front of the door.

Because the preposition ante takes the accusative.

The dictionary form is ianua (door), but after ante it becomes:

• ante ianuam = before / in front of the door

This is just a regular prepositional usage.

Here cum means since, when, or while, introducing a subordinate clause:

• cum cena iam parata sit

In this sentence, the idea is something like:

• Why are you lingering so long in front of the door, since dinner is already prepared?

So cum gives the background or circumstance explaining why the main question is being asked.

This is one of the most important things to notice in the sentence.

When cum introduces a circumstantial or causal clause, Latin often uses the subjunctive rather than the indicative.

So:

• cum cena iam parata sit = since / when dinner is already ready

The subjunctive here does not necessarily make the statement doubtful. It is simply the normal grammar for this kind of cum-clause.

If Latin used cum ... est, that would usually feel more like a straightforward factual when in a more literal sense. With cum ... sit, the clause is being presented as the circumstance or reason surrounding the main action.

It is best understood as a circumstantial or causal cum clause.

Depending on how you translate it, it can mean:

• when dinner is already ready
• since dinner is already ready

In context, since is often the most natural English translation, because the clause explains why lingering outside seems strange.

Word by word:

• cena = dinner
• iam = already / now by this time
• parata = prepared / ready
• sit = is (subjunctive of sum)

So literally it is:

• dinner already prepared is

More natural English:

• dinner is already ready
• dinner has already been prepared

Parata is a perfect passive participle from paro, parare (prepare), and here it agrees with cena.

Since cena is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

the participle must also be:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So:

• cena parata = the dinner, having been prepared
• more naturally: dinner ready / dinner prepared

Combined with sit, it forms a passive idea:

• cena parata sit = dinner has been prepared / is ready

Yes. It is made from:

• parata = the perfect passive participle
• sit = subjunctive of sum

Together they form the perfect passive subjunctive in form.

But in practice, with a word like paratus, the phrase often feels almost adjectival:

• cena parata est can mean dinner has been prepared
• but also very naturally dinner is ready

So in this sentence, English may translate it either way depending on what sounds best.

Because its subject is cena, which is singular.

• cena = dinner (singular)
• therefore sit = may be / is in the singular

If the subject were plural, the verb would also be plural.

Iam means already, by now, or sometimes simply now depending on context.

Here it emphasizes that dinner is ready already, so the people outside have even less reason to keep waiting:

• cum cena iam parata sit = since dinner is already ready

It gives the sentence a slight sense of impatience.

Latin often places verbs near the end of their clauses, although word order is flexible.

So this arrangement is very natural:

• Cur tam diu ante ianuam moramini
• cum cena iam parata sit

Ending each clause with its verb helps give the sentence a balanced, orderly structure. English relies more heavily on word order for grammar, but Latin uses endings, so it has much more freedom.

Not naturally in this sentence.

A cum clause with the subjunctive can sometimes be translated in different ways depending on context, but here the most sensible meanings are:

• when
• since

The idea is not really concessive (although dinner is ready...), but explanatory: Why are you still outside, since dinner is already ready?

No. The sentence has two clauses, each with its own subject idea.

Main clause:

• Cur tam diu ante ianuam moramini?
• Subject is you (plural), contained in the ending of moramini

Subordinate clause:

• cum cena iam parata sit
• Subject is cena

So cena is only the subject of the cum clause, not of the main question.

A fairly literal translation would be:

Why are you lingering so long before the door, when/since dinner is already prepared?

A more natural English version might be:

Why are you standing around so long in front of the door, since dinner is already ready?