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

Because cum can be either:

• a preposition meaning with when it is followed by a noun in the ablative, or
• a conjunction meaning when, since, or although when it introduces a clause.

Here cum is followed by a whole clause: lilium sub fenestra floret. So it is a conjunction, and here it means when.

Because lilium is a neuter second-declension noun, and in that declension the nominative singular and accusative singular are both -um.

So lilium can be either:

• subject: the lily
• direct object: the lily

You tell which it is from the sentence. Here it must be the subject because it goes with floret = blooms/is blooming, a singular verb.

Here fenestra is ablative singular after sub.

The preposition sub can take two different cases:

• ablative for location: under
• accusative for motion toward: to under / beneath

In this sentence, the lily is already under the window, not moving there, so Latin uses the ablative:

• sub fenestra = under the window

Because its subject, lilium, is singular.

Floret comes from floreo, florere, meaning to bloom / to flower.
It is third person singular present active indicative:

• he/she/it blooms
• it is blooming

Since lilium = the lily is singular, the verb is singular too.

Etiam means also, even, or too, depending on context.

Here it adds the idea that not only does the lily bloom, but the violets also grow faster. So:

• etiam violae = the violets also

Its position is fairly flexible, but here it emphasizes the second part of the sentence nicely.

Violae is nominative plural, meaning violets.

You know it is the subject because:

1. crescunt is a plural verb.
2. violae is in a form that can be nominative plural.
3. It makes sense as the thing doing the growing.

So:

• violae crescunt = the violets grow

A beginner should remember that -ae in a first-declension noun often marks nominative plural.

Because prope takes the accusative.

So:

• ianua = nominative singular, door
• ianuam = accusative singular, door

Therefore:

• prope ianuam = near the door

This is just something to learn with the preposition: prope + accusative.

Because celerius is a comparative adverb meaning more quickly.

It comes from celer = quick. Latin often forms the comparative adverb with -ius:

• celeriter = quickly
• celerius = more quickly

So celerius crescunt means they grow more quickly.

It does not mean simply quickly; it means more quickly, comparing their growth to some other situation or standard.

Because its subject is violae, which is plural.

Crescunt comes from cresco, crescere = to grow.
It is third person plural present active indicative:

• they grow
• they are growing

So:

• violae crescunt = the violets grow

Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order because Latin shows grammatical relationships mostly through endings, not just position.

In English, word order is crucial:

• The violets grow
• Grow the violets sounds odd or changes the structure

In Latin, endings already tell you what each word is doing, so the writer can arrange words for emphasis, balance, or style.

This sentence is quite natural:

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

But Latin could rearrange parts of it without changing the basic meaning very much.

Classical Latin usually has no articles.

So a noun like lilium can mean:

• a lily
• the lily

and violae can mean:

• violets
• the violets
• sometimes even some violets, depending on context

You decide from the context which English article sounds best.

Here it is most naturally temporal: when the lily blooms.

With cum, context matters. It can introduce clauses of:

• time: when
• cause: since
• concession: although

In this sentence, the most straightforward reading is temporal: one thing happens when another happens.

A learner may also notice a slight sense of connection between the two actions, but grammatically the simplest understanding is still when.

Not quite.

• sub fenestra specifically means under the window
• prope ianuam means near the door

So Latin is using two different spatial ideas:

• one flower is located beneath something
• the others are located close to something

It is worth keeping the distinction clear, because the prepositions are not interchangeable.

Both verbs are present tense:

• floret = blooms / is blooming
• crescunt = grow / are growing

Latin often uses the present for general statements, habitual actions, or vivid present-time description. So this sentence can sound like a general truth or a recurring pattern:

• When the lily blooms under the window, the violets near the door also grow more quickly.

It does not have to mean only one single event happening right now.