Si pluvia non caderet, mulier iuxta rivum maneret.

not

Breakdown of Si pluvia non caderet, mulier iuxta rivum maneret.

• si: if
• manere: to stay
• pluvia: the rain

Questions & Answers about Si pluvia non caderet, mulier iuxta rivum maneret.

Why are caderet and maneret in the subjunctive instead of the indicative?

Because this sentence is expressing a hypothetical, unreal situation, not a simple statement of fact.

In Latin, a condition like if X were happening, Y would happen is often called a present contrary-to-fact condition. Latin regularly uses the imperfect subjunctive in both clauses for that pattern:

• Si pluvia non caderet = if the rain were not falling
• mulier iuxta rivum maneret = the woman would remain beside the stream

So the subjunctive here signals that the speaker is imagining a situation that is not actually true.

What kind of si sentence is this?

This is a present contrary-to-fact conditional.

That means:

• the if-clause describes something unreal in the present
• the main clause describes what would happen if that unreal condition were true

Pattern:

• si
  • imperfect subjunctive
• main clause + imperfect subjunctive

So this sentence means something like:

• If it were not raining, the woman would stay beside the stream

The implication is that it is in fact raining, so she is not staying there.

Why is the imperfect subjunctive used here? It seems to refer to the present, not the past.