Nusquam aquam tam puram invenimus quam apud fontem.

Nusquam means nowhere.

It is placed first for emphasis. Latin word order is often more flexible than English, so putting nusquam at the beginning highlights the idea of nowhere at all.

So the sentence starts with the strong idea: Nowhere do we find water so pure ...

Aquam is the accusative singular of aqua, meaning water.

It is accusative because it is the direct object of invenimus (we find). In other words, water is the thing being found.

• aqua = nominative, water as subject
• aquam = accusative, water as object

So here:

• we = subject
• find = verb
• water = direct object → aquam

Puram is the adjective purus, -a, -um, meaning pure.

It is accusative singular feminine because it agrees with aquam:

• aquam = accusative singular feminine
• puram = accusative singular feminine

Latin adjectives must agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

So aquam puram means pure water.

Tam ... quam is a common Latin comparison pattern meaning as ... as.

Here:

• tam puram = so/as pure
• quam apud fontem = as at the spring

So the structure is:

nusquam aquam tam puram invenimus quam apud fontem
= nowhere do we find water as pure as at the spring

This is the regular way Latin makes an equality comparison.

No. Here quam is not a relative pronoun meaning whom/which.

It is the second part of the comparison tam ... quam = as ... as.

So in this sentence, quam simply introduces the second half of the comparison:

• tam puram ... quam apud fontem
• as pure ... as at the spring

Apud means at, near, or by. It takes the accusative case, so fons becomes fontem.

So:

• apud fontem = at/by the spring

A learner may expect ad fontem, but ad usually suggests movement to something, while apud often means being at or near a place.

In this sentence, the meaning is not movement toward the spring, but location in relation to it, so apud fontem fits well.

Because apud always takes the accusative.

The noun is fons, fontis (spring, fountain, source), and its accusative singular is fontem.

So:

• fons = nominative
• fontem = accusative

This has nothing to do with fontem being the direct object of the verb. It is accusative because it follows the preposition apud.

A helpful way to break it up is:

• nusquam = nowhere
• aquam = water
• tam puram = so/as pure
• invenimus = we find
• quam apud fontem = as at the spring

So the structure is roughly:

Nowhere | water | so pure | do we find | as at the spring

More naturally in English: We find water nowhere as pure as at the spring.

Or better English: Nowhere do we find water as pure as at the spring.

Yes. Invenimus can be either:

• present tense: we find
• perfect tense: we found

Only context tells you which is meant.

In a sentence like this, it is most naturally understood as present: we find

That is because the sentence sounds like a general statement or observation, not a report about one past event.

Latin often does not need extra words that English uses for smoothness.

Apud fontem simply means at the spring or by the spring. English might sometimes say there at the spring, but Latin does not need a separate word for there.

The location is already clear from the prepositional phrase itself.

Literally, tam often corresponds to so, and quam completes the comparison.

So word-for-word it feels like: nowhere do we find water so pure as at the spring

But in more natural English, we usually say: nowhere do we find water as pure as at the spring

So both ideas are present, but as ... as is the best English equivalent for tam ... quam.