Strepitus molestus discipulos impedit quominus vocem lectoris audiant.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• Strepitus molestus = the subject
• impedit = the main verb
• discipulos = the direct object of impedit
• quominus vocem lectoris audiant = a subordinate clause explaining what they are prevented from doing

So the core structure is:

• Strepitus molestus = the annoying noise
• discipulos impedit = hinders the students
• quominus ... audiant = from hearing ...

Latin often puts these parts in an order that is different from normal English word order.

Strepitus is in the nominative singular, so it is the subject of impedit.

A learner might hesitate because strepitus ends in -us, and many second-declension nouns do that too, but strepitus is actually a fourth-declension noun. Its nominative singular is still strepitus.

So:

• strepitus = nominative singular = the noise
• therefore it is the thing doing the hindering

Molestus is an adjective modifying strepitus, so it must agree with it in:

• gender
• number
• case

Since strepitus is masculine nominative singular, molestus must also be masculine nominative singular.

That is why we get:

• strepitus molestus = annoying noise or the annoying noise

Even though English usually puts adjectives before nouns, Latin can place the adjective after the noun very naturally.

Because discipulos is the direct object of impedit.

The verb impedire means to hinder, to impede, or to prevent, and the person being hindered is put in the accusative.

So here:

• discipulos = the students
• accusative plural, because they are the ones being hindered

The sentence is not saying that the students are doing the action of impedit. They are receiving the effect of the hindering.

Quominus is a conjunction used especially after verbs of hindering, preventing, delaying, and the like. In this sentence it means something like:

• from
• from ...ing
• that ... not, in the sense of prevention

So:

• impedit quominus audiant = prevents them from hearing

A very literal sense behind quominus is something like whereby the less, but learners usually do better to understand its actual idiomatic function: after a verb like impedit, it introduces the action that is being blocked.

This is a standard Latin construction.

Because quominus regularly takes the subjunctive in this kind of clause.

So audiant is present subjunctive, third person plural, from audire.

Why subjunctive?

• The clause is not just a plain statement of fact.
• It is a subordinate clause dependent on impedit.
• Latin normally uses the subjunctive after quominus with verbs of hindering.

So:

• audiunt would mean they hear as a straightforward indicative statement
• audiant means that they hear / from hearing, in the subordinate construction required here

Because lectoris is genitive singular, showing possession or close relationship.

So:

• vocem = voice in the accusative singular
• lectoris = of the reader or of the lecturer/teacher, depending on context

Together:

• vocem lectoris = the reader’s voice or the voice of the reader

If Latin used lector here, that would be nominative singular, which would not fit this relationship.

Because it is the direct object of audiant.

The students are being prevented from hearing the voice, so vocem is the thing heard.

Compare:

• audiant = they may hear / hear
• vocem = what they hear

Thus vocem must be accusative singular.

To an English speaker, yes, it may feel unusual, but it is perfectly normal Latin.

A more English-like order would be something like:

• Strepitus molestus impedit discipulos quominus vocem lectoris audiant.

But Latin is freer with word order because endings show grammatical function. In the original sentence:

• Strepitus molestus comes first, giving prominence to the cause
• discipulos impedit follows
• the clause quominus vocem lectoris audiant comes after, explaining what the hindrance affects

So the order is not random; it is flexible and often used for emphasis or style.

Sometimes Latin does use ne after verbs of preventing or hindering, but quominus is especially common and very idiomatic after verbs like impedire.

So impedit quominus audiant is a standard construction.

A learner should remember:

• after verbs of preventing, Latin may use ne or quominus
• with impedire, quominus is very natural

So in this sentence, quominus is not strange or exceptional; it is exactly the kind of conjunction you should expect.

Audiant is present subjunctive.

It is present because the hindering and the hearing are understood as happening at the same time:

• the noise is hindering the students now
• from hearing the reader’s voice now

So the present subjunctive fits the time relationship.

If the Latin wanted to show prior action or a different time relationship, it might use a different tense. But here the present is the natural choice.

Grammatically, lectoris is the genitive singular of lector, which often means reader. But depending on context, it could be understood more broadly as:

• reader
• reciter
• lecturer
• even teacher reading aloud

Latin words often cover a range that does not match one English word perfectly. So the exact English choice depends on the situation, even though the grammar stays the same.

The important grammatical point is that lectoris is genitive singular and depends on vocem.