Mense Aprili saepe quattuordecim dies pluvias ferunt.

Because Latin often uses the ablative of time when without a preposition.

So mense Aprili literally means in the month of April, even though there is no separate word for in.

• mense = in the month / during the month
• Aprili = of April or, more naturally in English, April

Latin frequently does this with expressions of time.

Both are ablative singular.

• mense comes from mensis, mensis (month)
• Aprili comes from Aprilis, Aprilis (April)

They are in the ablative because the sentence is expressing time when: in April.

Also, Aprili agrees with mense in case, number, and gender, since it is describing which month.

Because the dictionary form Aprilis has to change to match its grammatical role in the sentence.

Here it modifies mense, which is ablative singular, so Aprilis becomes Aprili.

This is a normal Latin feature: words change form depending on case and function.

The subject is quattuordecim dies = fourteen days.

You can tell because:

• ferunt is 3rd person plural: they bring
• the noun phrase that fits as a plural subject is quattuordecim dies

So the basic structure is:

• quattuordecim dies = subject
• pluvias = object
• ferunt = verb

Because of its job in the sentence.

The verb ferunt needs a subject, and quattuordecim dies is clearly the thing doing the action: fourteen days bring...

It is true that dies can have forms that look the same in different cases, so context matters. Here the verb ending helps:

• ferunt = they bring
• therefore we expect a plural subject
• quattuordecim dies fits that role

So here dies is understood as nominative plural.

Because quattuordecim (fourteen) is an indeclinable numeral. That means it stays the same regardless of case, number, or gender.

So whether it is used with a subject, object, or some other construction, quattuordecim itself does not change.

The noun after it, however, does show the necessary form:

• dies here is plural and functions as the subject

Latin often uses the plural pluviae / pluvias to mean rains or rainy spells, where English might simply say rain.

So pluvias ferunt is literally bring rains, but in natural English that may be translated as bring rain.

This is a good example of Latin and English not always using singular and plural in the same way.

Ferunt literally means they carry or they bring.

It comes from fero, an irregular verb meaning carry, bear, bring.

In this sentence, fourteen days bring rains is a natural Latin way of saying that those days are rainy. Latin sometimes uses vivid, concrete verbs where English might choose a simpler expression like there are rains or it rains.

Because the sentence is not focusing on a single event of rain. Instead, it presents the days as the agents that bring rains.

Latin often expresses ideas in a way that sounds more concrete or personified than English. So instead of saying something like it rains on fourteen days, the sentence says fourteen days bring rains.

That is stylistically normal Latin.

To an English speaker, yes, it may feel unusual, but it is normal for Latin.

The sentence is:

Mense Aprili saepe quattuordecim dies pluvias ferunt.

A more English-like order would be:

Quattuordecim dies mense Aprili saepe pluvias ferunt.

Or even more naturally in English:

In April, fourteen days often bring rain.

Latin word order is much freer because the endings show grammatical relationships. The sentence begins with the time expression mense Aprili, which sets the scene right away: in April.

Saepe means often, and it modifies the whole verbal idea: fourteen days often bring rains.

In other words, it tells you how frequently this happens.

Its position is flexible. Latin can place adverbs like saepe in different spots for rhythm or emphasis, but here it simply means often with the main statement.

Here dies is best understood as masculine, which is its usual gender.

The noun dies, diei can sometimes be feminine in certain special contexts, but ordinarily it is masculine, especially when it simply means day.

So in this sentence, think of dies as a normal masculine noun.

A useful breakdown is:

• Mense Aprili = ablative of time when, in April
• saepe = adverb, often
• quattuordecim dies = nominative plural subject, fourteen days
• pluvias = accusative plural direct object, rains
• ferunt = 3rd person plural verb, bring

So the structure is:

In April / often / fourteen days / rains / bring

which becomes natural English as:

In April, fourteen days often bring rain.