Cum consul decretum senatui recitaret, quidam cives suffragium statim ferri volebant.

Latin cum has more than one use.

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

Here cum introduces a whole clause:

Cum consul decretum senatui recitaret ...

So it is the conjunction, not the preposition. In this sentence it gives background time/circumstance: when or while the consul was reading the decree to the senate.

Because this is a cum clause in past narrative.

In Latin, when cum introduces background circumstances in a past-time sentence, the verb is very often put in the subjunctive. This is commonly called a circumstantial cum clause.

So:

• cum ... recitaret = when/while ... was reading

It is not mainly showing doubt or unreality here. The subjunctive is used because of the kind of clause it is.

The imperfect subjunctive fits the time relationship in the sentence.

Both parts describe actions in the past that were going on at the same time:

• recitaret = was reading / was reciting
• volebant = were wanting

So the sense is:

• while the consul was in the middle of reading...
• some citizens wanted...

The imperfect gives a continuous/background feel, which matches the scene well.

consul is nominative singular.

It is the subject of recitaret:

• consul recitaret = the consul was reading

So the consul is the person doing the action in the cum clause.

decretum is accusative singular neuter.

It is the direct object of recitaret:

• recitare decretum = to read/recite a decree

So:

• consul decretum recitaret = the consul was reading the decree

senatui is dative singular of senatus.

It is an indirect object, answering to whom?

• recitare aliquid alicui = to read something to someone

So:

• decretum senatui recitaret = was reading the decree to the senate

A native English speaker may want to make it possessive, like the senate’s decree, but that is not what the Latin form shows here. The dative says the senate is the audience/recipient, not the possessor.

quidam means a certain or some.

Here it modifies cives:

• quidam cives = some citizens / certain citizens

It often suggests an indefinite but real group—not everybody, just some particular people.

Because cives is the subject of volebant.

• cives volebant = the citizens wanted

It is plural because the verb is plural:

• volebant = they were wanting / wanted

So quidam cives is the subject of the main clause.

The imperfect shows an action or state that was ongoing in the past.

So volebant is not just a simple one-time wanted. It has the sense:

• were wanting
• wanted at that moment
• were eager for

This fits the scene: while the consul was still reading, some citizens were already wanting the vote to happen immediately.

ferri is the present passive infinitive of ferre.

• ferre = to carry, bear, bring
• ferri = to be carried / to be brought

In political language, expressions with suffragium and ferre are connected with voting. Here the passive infinitive gives the idea:

• suffragium ferri = for the vote to be taken / for voting to be carried out

So the citizens were not wanting to carry the vote themselves in the grammar of the sentence; they wanted the vote to be taken.

This is a verb of wanting plus an infinitive construction.

• volebant = they wanted
• ferri = to be taken
• suffragium is the thing connected with that infinitive: the vote

So the whole idea is:

• they wanted the vote to be taken immediately

Latin often uses an infinitive after volo to express what someone wants to happen.

In Latin, suffragium can mean:

• a vote
• voting
• the vote as a procedure or decision

So the singular here can refer to the act of taking a vote in a general or collective sense:

• suffragium statim ferri = for the vote to be taken at once

English often uses the vote similarly.

statim means immediately / at once.

It modifies the verbal idea ferri:

• statim ferri = to be taken immediately

So it tells us when they wanted the vote to happen.

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammar. But the order still helps with emphasis and flow.

Here the order is very natural:

• Cum consul decretum senatui recitaret
  first gives the background situation
• quidam cives
  then introduces the people reacting
• suffragium statim ferri
  puts the desired action before the verb of wanting
• volebant
  ends the sentence with the main verb

So the structure is roughly:

1. background scene
2. main actors
3. what they wanted
4. the wanting itself

Yes.

Because the imperfect gives an ongoing background action, both are possible depending on how you want the English to sound:

• When the consul was reading the decree to the senate...
• While the consul was reading the decree to the senate...

While often brings out the continuing action a little more clearly, but when is also perfectly reasonable.

Yes, that is a natural way to read it.

The cum clause sets up the official process:

• the consul was reading the decree to the senate

The main clause shows that some citizens wanted to move faster:

• they wanted the vote taken immediately

So the sentence suggests impatience or urgency on the part of quidam cives. Even if the meaning has already been given to the learner, this is a useful thing to notice in the grammar and structure.