Cum sol oritur, aves in horto cantant.

Cum can mean different things depending on how it is used.

• As a preposition with the ablative, it often means with:
  cum amico = with a friend
• As a conjunction introducing a clause, it can mean when, since, or although, depending on context.

In Cum sol oritur, aves in horto cantant, cum introduces a clause with a verb (oritur), so it is a conjunction and means when.

Oritur comes from orior, a deponent verb.

A deponent verb:

• has passive-looking forms
• but an active meaning

So:

• oritur looks like it could be passive
• but it actually means he/she/it rises or is rising

This is very common in Latin, and orior is one of the standard deponent verbs learners meet early.

You know from both meaning and form.

• Sol is in the nominative singular, which is the normal case for a subject.
• Oritur is third person singular, so it matches sol well.
• The sense is also natural: the sun rises

So sol is the subject of oritur.

Aves is the nominative plural of avis (bird).

You can identify it as the subject because:

• cantant is third person plural = they sing
• aves is a plural noun that matches that verb
• the sentence makes sense as the birds sing

So:

• avis = bird
• aves = birds

Because in with the ablative usually shows location: in, on, or at a place.

Here, in horto means in the garden, meaning the birds are located there.

Compare:

• in horto = in the garden (location, ablative)
• in hortum = into the garden (motion toward, accusative)

So the ablative is used because there is no movement into the garden, only being there.

Latin does not have definite or indefinite articles like English the, a, or an.

So:

• sol can mean sun or the sun
• aves can mean birds or the birds
• horto can mean garden or the garden, depending on context

English usually needs an article, but Latin often leaves that idea to context.

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

English depends heavily on position:

• The birds sing is different from Sing the birds

Latin depends more on endings:

• aves tells you the noun is plural nominative
• cantant tells you the verb is plural

Because of that, Latin often puts the verb near the end of the clause, but this is a style tendency, not a strict rule.

So aves in horto cantant is a very normal Latin order.

Yes. Both verbs are in the present tense:

• oritur = rises / is rising
• cantant = sing / are singing

In a sentence like this, the present often expresses a general or habitual truth:

• When the sun rises, the birds sing

It can also sound vivid, as if describing something happening regularly or naturally. Latin often uses the present this way.

It most naturally suggests a repeated or general event:

• Whenever the sun rises, birds sing in the garden

Latin cum with the indicative in a simple sentence like this often gives a straightforward time relation: when. In context, that can mean:

• a specific occasion, or
• a general recurring situation

Here the sentence feels like a general fact of nature.

Yes, often it could.

For example, Latin could also say things like:

• Cum oritur sol, aves in horto cantant.
• Aves cum sol oritur in horto cantant.
• In horto aves cantant, cum sol oritur.

These may differ slightly in emphasis, but the basic meaning remains understandable because the endings show the grammar.

Still, the original sentence is a very natural and clear way to say it.

The sentence has two clauses:

• Cum sol oritur = subordinate clause
• aves in horto cantant = main clause

The subordinate clause is introduced by cum and gives the time of the action in the main clause.

So the structure is:

• When the sun rises → time clause
• the birds sing in the garden → main statement