Cum lilium sub fenestrā flōret, etiam violae prope iānuam celerius crēscunt.

Here cum means when.

In Latin, cum can have several meanings depending on context, including:

• when
• since
• although
• because

In this sentence, Cum lilium sub fenestrā flōret is a time clause, so cum is best understood as when:

• Cum lilium sub fenestrā flōret = When the lily blooms under the window

Because the verb is in the indicative (flōret), this is a straightforward temporal use.

Lilium is the subject of flōret, so it is in the nominative singular.

The noun is lilium, liliī = lily. It is a second-declension neuter noun. Its nominative singular form is:

• lilium = the lily / a lily

So:

• lilium ... flōret = the lily blooms

A learner may expect a different ending because many second-declension nouns end in -us, but neuter nouns often end in -um in the nominative singular.

Fenestrā is ablative because sub can take different cases depending on the meaning.

With sub:

• accusative often suggests motion toward / to a position under
• ablative often suggests location = under

Here there is no movement; the lily is simply located there:

• sub fenestrā = under the window

So fenestrā is ablative singular of fenestra, fenestrae.

Because prope is a preposition that takes the accusative.

So:

• iānua = door
• iānuam = accusative singular
• prope iānuam = near the door

This is something English speakers often have to memorize: Latin prepositions govern specific cases.

The verbs agree with their subjects.

• lilium is singular, so the verb is singular:
  • flōret = blooms
• violae is plural, so the verb is plural:
  • crēscunt = grow

So the structure is:

• lilium ... flōret = the lily blooms
• violae ... crēscunt = the violets grow

This is normal subject-verb agreement in Latin.

Yes, here violae means violets and is nominative plural.

The noun is viola, violae, a first-declension noun. The form violae can mean several things depending on context, including:

• nominative plural = violets
• genitive singular = of a violet
• dative singular = to/for a violet

Here it must be nominative plural because it is the subject of crēscunt, which is plural.

So:

• etiam violae ... crēscunt = the violets also grow

Etiam means also, even, or sometimes still, depending on context.

Here it means also:

• etiam violae ... crēscunt = the violets also grow

It shows that not only the lily blooms, but the violets too are doing something positive.

Because celerius is the comparative adverb: more quickly.

Compare:

• celeriter = quickly
• celerius = more quickly / faster

So:

• crēscunt = they grow
• celerius crēscunt = they grow faster

A native English speaker may expect a separate word like more, but Latin often builds the comparative directly into the adverb.

It modifies crēscunt, not violae.

Celerius is an adverb, and adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Here it tells us how the violets grow:

• violae celerius crēscunt = the violets grow faster

If it were describing the noun violae, we would expect an adjective form instead.

Crēscunt is the third-person plural present active indicative of crēscō, crēscere, meaning grow.

Breaking it down:

• crēsc- = verb stem
• -unt = they

So:

• crēscunt = they grow

Since the subject is violae (the violets), the plural form is required.

Flōret is the third-person singular present active indicative of flōreō, flōrēre, meaning bloom, flower, or be in bloom.

Breaking it down:

• flōr- = verb stem
• -et = he/she/it

So:

• flōret = it blooms

Because the subject is lilium (the lily), the singular verb is used.

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because the endings show the grammatical relationships.

English depends heavily on word order:

• The lily blooms
• The violets grow faster near the door

Latin can move words around for emphasis, style, or rhythm:

• Cum lilium sub fenestrā flōret, etiam violae prope iānuam celerius crēscunt.

Even though this is not the most literal English order, the endings tell you what goes with what:

• lilium is the subject of flōret
• violae is the subject of crēscunt
• sub fenestrā belongs together
• prope iānuam belongs together
• celerius modifies crēscunt

A good reading strategy is to identify subjects, verbs, and prepositional phrases first.

Yes, cum often appears with the subjunctive in other kinds of clauses, but not necessarily here.

Common patterns include:

• cum
  • indicative for a simple time idea: when
• cum
  • subjunctive for more descriptive or circumstantial ideas, and also for since or although in many contexts

This sentence uses:

• Cum lilium sub fenestrā flōret

with flōret in the indicative, which makes it a simple statement of time: When the lily blooms...

So a learner should not assume that cum automatically requires the subjunctive.

Here is the full breakdown:

• lilium

  • nominative singular
  • subject of flōret

• fenestrā

  • ablative singular
  • object of sub in a location sense

• violae

  • nominative plural
  • subject of crēscunt

• iānuam

  • accusative singular
  • object of prope

This is a very useful exercise for Latin learners: identify each noun’s case and then connect it to its function.

Macrons mark long vowels:

• fenestrā
• iānuam
• flōret
• crēscunt

They are very helpful for pronunciation and sometimes for distinguishing forms, but many printed Latin texts leave them out.

For a learner, they matter because they help with:

• correct pronunciation
• recognizing patterns
• learning meter in poetry later on

But if you saw the sentence written without macrons, the grammar would still be the same:

• Cum lilium sub fenestra floret, etiam violae prope ianuam celerius crescunt.

Yes. A very literal translation can help you see the structure:

• Cum = when
• lilium = the lily
• sub fenestrā = under the window
• flōret = blooms
• etiam = also
• violae = the violets
• prope iānuam = near the door
• celerius = more quickly / faster
• crēscunt = grow

So a very literal version is:

When the lily under the window blooms, the violets also grow faster near the door.

That kind of word-by-word analysis is often useful when learning Latin, even if the final English translation becomes smoother.