Cum pluvia per compluvium cadit, impluvium paulatim completur.

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Breakdown of Cum pluvia per compluvium cadit, impluvium paulatim completur.

• cum: when
• pluvia: the rain
• cadere: to fall

Questions & Answers about Cum pluvia per compluvium cadit, impluvium paulatim completur.

What does cum mean here?

Here cum means when.

It introduces a time clause: Cum pluvia per compluvium cadit = when rain falls through the compluvium.

In other contexts, cum can also mean things like with, since, or although, so it is very common for learners to stop and ask which meaning is intended. In this sentence, the verb and the overall sense make it clearly temporal: when.

Why does cum take the indicative here instead of the subjunctive?

Because this is a straightforward temporal clause describing what happens as a regular fact.

• cadit is present indicative
• the clause means when rain falls...
• it is not a literary or more interpretive cum clause such as since or although

A useful beginner rule is:

• cum + indicative often gives a simple time idea: when
• cum + subjunctive often gives a more contextual idea such as since, although, or when in a narrative setting

So here the indicative fits the plain, factual sense.

Is pluvia really the subject of cadit?

Yes. Pluvia is nominative singular, so it is the subject of .