Cum imber cadat, tamen pater ait raedam paratam esse.

Here cum introduces a subordinate clause: cum imber cadat.

With the subjunctive, cum can mean several things depending on context, such as:

• when
• since
• although

In this sentence, the presence of tamen in the main clause strongly suggests a concessive meaning:

• cum ... tamen ... = although ... nevertheless ...

So here cum is best understood as although or even though.

Because after this kind of cum, Latin normally uses the subjunctive.

So:

• cadit = falls / is falling (indicative)
• cadat = present subjunctive

In a concessive cum clause, the subjunctive is expected:

• Cum imber cadat, tamen...
  Although rain is falling, nevertheless...

The tense is also important:

• present subjunctive = action happening at the same time as the main verb

Since ait is present, cadat shows the rain is falling at that same time.

Tamen means nevertheless, still, or yet.

It often appears with concessive expressions to make the contrast clearer:

• Cum imber cadat, tamen pater ait...
• Although rain is falling, nevertheless father says...

In English, we do not always need both parts. We might simply say:

• Although it is raining, father says...

But Latin often likes this pair:

• cum = although
• tamen = nevertheless / still

So tamen strengthens the contrast.

Latin can express rain in more than one way.

A very common way is with the impersonal verb:

• pluit = it is raining

But Latin can also speak of rain more concretely:

• imber = rain, rainfall, rainstorm
• cadere = to fall

So imber cadit/cadat literally means rain falls / is falling.

That is a perfectly understandable Latin way to express the idea. It is a bit more vivid or concrete than simply using pluit.

Both ait and dicit can mean says.

But ait is a very common verb in Latin for introducing what someone says, especially:

• brief statements
• dialogue
• narrative

It can feel a little more compact or idiomatic than dicit in some contexts.

So:

• pater ait = father says

There is nothing strange about ait here; it is just a normal Latin reporting verb.

This is a classic Latin indirect statement construction, also called the accusative-and-infinitive construction.

After verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, perceiving, and so on, Latin often uses:

• accusative subject
• infinitive verb

So in:

• pater ait raedam paratam esse

the structure is:

• ait = says
• raedam = the subject of the indirect statement, put in the accusative
• paratam esse = infinitive phrase

So literally Latin says something like:

• father says the carriage to be ready / prepared

Natural English turns that into:

• father says that the carriage is ready
• or possibly father says that the carriage has been prepared, depending on context

Because in an indirect statement, the subject of the infinitive goes into the accusative.

So although raedam is the thing that is logically ready, it is not the grammatical subject of the whole sentence. The main verb is ait, whose subject is pater.

Break it down like this:

• pater = nominative, subject of ait
• raedam = accusative, subject of esse inside the indirect statement

This is very different from English, where we say:

• father says that the carriage is ready

English keeps the carriage in its normal subject form, but Latin changes it to the accusative inside indirect discourse.

Because it agrees with raedam.

• raeda is a feminine noun
• raedam is feminine singular accusative
• paratam must match it in gender, number, and case

So:

• raedam paratam = the carriage ready / prepared

If the noun were masculine or plural, the participle/adjective would change to match.

This is a very good question, because the form can suggest either idea.

Formally, paratam esse can be understood as:

1. perfect passive infinitive
   to have been prepared

or

2. adjective + esse
   to be ready

Since paratus, -a, -um often means ready, context matters a lot.

So this phrase may mean either:

• that the carriage is ready
• or that the carriage has been prepared

If the meaning shown to the learner is the carriage is ready, that is completely reasonable. Latin often uses paratus in that adjectival sense.

Yes, but it is normal Latin specialness, not anything bizarre.

Latin word order is much freer than English word order. This sentence is arranged in a very natural Latin way:

• Cum imber cadat = subordinate clause first
• tamen pater ait = main clause begins, with the contrast marker
• raedam paratam esse = the indirect statement comes after the verb of saying

A more mechanical English-like order would not be necessary in Latin. The sentence as written has a clear flow:

1. concession: although rain is falling
2. contrast: nevertheless
3. main statement: father says
4. content of the statement: the carriage is ready

So the word order helps the listener process the sentence in a very Latin way.