Cum sol occiderit, convivae lente discedent.

Because cum can be either a preposition or a conjunction.

• As a preposition, it means with and is followed by the ablative case:
  cum amico = with a friend
• As a conjunction, it means when, since, or although and introduces a clause.

In Cum sol occiderit, convivae lente discedent, cum introduces the clause sol occiderit, so it means when.

Occiderit is the future perfect indicative, not the ordinary perfect.

It comes from occido = to set or to fall.
Here it means will have set.

Latin often uses the future perfect in a time clause when the main clause is also future:

• Cum sol occiderit = when the sun has set
• convivae discedent = the guests will leave

So Latin is marking that the setting of the sun will be completed before the guests leave.

Yes. The form occiderit can look the same as the perfect subjunctive.

That means the form by itself is ambiguous. You tell which one it is from the context.

Here it is best understood as future perfect indicative because:

• the sentence is talking about a future time
• the main verb discedent is future
• cum here is temporal: when

So in this sentence, occiderit means will have set, not a subjunctive idea like may have set.

This is a very common difference between Latin and English.

Latin often uses the future perfect in a subordinate clause to show that one future action happens before another future action.

So Latin says:

• Cum sol occiderit, convivae discedent

Literally:

• When the sun will have set, the guests will leave

But natural English usually says:

• When the sun sets, the guests will leave or
• When the sun has set, the guests will leave

So the Latin tense is more explicit about completion before the next event.

Because it is describing what the guests will do.

Discedent is the future active indicative, third person plural, from discedo, discedere = to depart, leave, go away.

So:

• discedent = they will leave

Since convivae is plural, the verb is also plural.

Sol is nominative singular.

It is the subject of occiderit, just as the sun is the subject in English the sun has set.

So:

• sol = the sun
• nominative because it is doing the action of setting

Here convivae is nominative plural.

The noun conviva means guest or dinner guest.
Its form convivae could theoretically be several things in another context, such as:

• nominative plural
• genitive singular
• dative singular

But here it must be nominative plural because it is the subject of discedent:

• convivae discedent = the guests will leave

Lente is an adverb meaning slowly.

It comes from the adjective lentus, lenta, lentum, which can mean slow, calm, or sluggish, depending on context.

Here it modifies the verb discedent:

• convivae lente discedent = the guests will leave slowly

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because Latin uses endings to show grammatical function.

Placing the verb at the end is very common in Latin, especially in more formal or literary style. So:

• Cum sol occiderit, convivae lente discedent

is a perfectly normal arrangement.

Latin can move words around for emphasis, rhythm, or style, while English relies much more on fixed word order.

Possibly, but occiderit is more precise and more classical for this kind of sentence.

Compare the two ideas:

• cum sol occiderit = when the sun has set / will have set
• cum sol occidet = when the sun will set

The future perfect emphasizes that the sun’s setting is completed before the guests leave. That is why it fits well with discedent.

So occiderit is the more natural choice here.

Yes, it is normal here.

Cum can take either the indicative or the subjunctive, depending on meaning.

Here it is a purely temporal clause: when the sun has set.
That kind of cum commonly takes the indicative.

You may have learned other kinds of cum clauses that use the subjunctive, such as:

• cum meaning since
• cum meaning although
• narrative cum clauses

But this sentence is simply giving a time relation, so the indicative is appropriate.

Convivae usually means guests at a meal, especially dinner guests or banqueters.

That is a little more specific than the English word guests by itself. The word comes from the idea of living together / dining together.

So depending on context, you might translate it as:

• guests
• dinner guests
• banqueters

Yes, in natural English it could.

Because cum sol occiderit expresses that the sun’s setting happens first, English might say:

• When the sun has set, the guests will leave slowly
• After the sun sets, the guests will leave slowly
• After the sun has set, the guests will leave slowly

The Latin itself uses cum, so when is the most direct match, but after can capture the sequence clearly in English.

They are:

• cum = when here, as a conjunction
• sol, solis m. = sun
• occido, occidere, occidi = to set, to fall, to go down
• conviva, convivae m./f. = guest, especially dinner guest
• lente = slowly
• discedo, discedere, discessi, discessum = to depart, leave

Knowing the dictionary forms helps you see how the sentence is built:

• occiderit comes from occido
• discedent comes from discedo