Cum tonitrum auditur, canis sub lecto iacet.

Here cum means when.

So Cum tonitrum auditur is a temporal clause: it tells you when the dog is lying under the bed.

A very literal breakdown is:

• cum = when
• tonitrum auditur = thunder is heard

So the sentence means something like: When thunder is heard, the dog lies under the bed.

In beginner Latin, cum very often introduces a clause of time.

Because auditur is passive, not active.

It comes from the verb audio, audire = to hear.

Compare:

• audit = he/she/it hears (active)
• auditur = he/she/it is heard (passive)

So:

• tonitrum audit would mean it hears thunder or he/she hears thunder, depending on the subject
• tonitrum auditur means thunder is heard

In this sentence, tonitrum is the thing being heard, so the passive makes sense.

Because in a passive sentence, the thing receiving the action becomes the subject.

In tonitrum auditur:

• tonitrum = the subject
• auditur = is heard

So tonitrum is nominative because it is grammatically the subject of auditur, even though in English we may think of it as the thing someone hears.

This is a common Latin pattern:

• active: aliquis tonitrum audit = someone hears thunder
• passive: tonitrum auditur = thunder is heard

Canis is nominative because it is the subject of iacet.

• canis = the dog
• iacet = lies / is lying

Latin often leaves subjects in the nominative, and the verb agrees with them.

Here iacet is 3rd person singular, so it matches a singular subject like canis.

Even though Latin word order is flexible, the grammar shows the structure:

• Cum tonitrum auditur = subordinate clause
• canis sub lecto iacet = main clause

So canis is the dog doing the lying.

Iacet comes from iaceo, iacere, which means to lie, to be lying, or to be stretched out.

It often suggests being down or resting in a position, not just existing somewhere.

So in this sentence, canis sub lecto iacet gives the image of the dog lying under the bed, probably hiding there.

It is different from verbs like:

• stat = stands
• sedet = sits
• est = is

So iacet is a vivid choice: the dog is not just under the bed; it is lying there.

Because sub can take either the ablative or the accusative, depending on the meaning.

• sub + ablative = under in the sense of location (where?)
• sub + accusative = to under / under in the sense of motion toward (where to?)

Here the dog is already located under the bed, so Latin uses the ablative:

• sub lecto = under the bed

If the sentence meant the dog goes under the bed, Latin would more likely use the accusative:

• sub lectum it = it goes under the bed

Lecto is ablative singular of lectus, lecti, meaning bed.

So:

• nominative singular: lectus
• genitive singular: lecti
• ablative singular: lecto

Because it follows sub in a location sense, it appears in the ablative:

• sub lecto = under the bed

Latin often uses the present tense for general truths, repeated actions, or vivid statements.

So this sentence can mean:

• When thunder is heard, the dog lies under the bed
• or more naturally in English, Whenever thunder is heard, the dog lies under the bed

This is a normal use of the present tense in both Latin and English.

It does not have to mean only one specific moment happening right now. It can describe a regular pattern.

No. Cum can be followed by either the indicative or the subjunctive, depending on the meaning.

Here it is followed by the indicative:

• auditur is indicative

That is normal for a straightforward temporal meaning: when thunder is heard.

But cum with the subjunctive can have other shades of meaning, such as:

• since
• although
• sometimes a more descriptive when

So in this sentence, the indicative helps show a simple time relationship.

Yes. Latin could have said something like:

• Cum canis tonitrum audit, sub lecto iacet = When the dog hears thunder, it lies under the bed

That version makes the dog the hearer.

But Cum tonitrum auditur, canis sub lecto iacet is a little more impersonal:

• when thunder is heard

That wording focuses first on the event itself, and then tells what the dog does.

Latin often likes this kind of passive expression.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings show grammatical function.

This sentence is arranged very naturally:

• Cum tonitrum auditur = time-setting clause first
• canis sub lecto iacet = main statement after it

The order lets the sentence unfold like this:

1. first, the circumstance: when thunder is heard
2. then, the result or main action: the dog lies under the bed

Within the second clause, sub lecto is placed near iacet, which feels natural because it closely belongs with the action of lying.

So the order is not random; it is stylistically clear and elegant.

In a common classroom pronunciation, roughly:

• cum = koom
• tonitrum = toh-NIH-troom
• auditur = ow-DEE-toor
• canis = KAH-nis
• sub = soob
• lecto = LEK-toh
• iacet = YAH-ket

A couple of helpful notes:

• c is always hard, like k
• i before a vowel can sound like y, so iacet begins like ya-
• au sounds like ow in cow

If you are using reconstructed classical pronunciation, that is a good guide for this sentence.