Temporal, causal and concessive clauses

Temporal Clauses

Temporal clauses in Latin express the time when, since, until, or after something happens.
The most common conjunctions that introduce temporal clauses are ‘cum’ (when, since, although), ‘dum’ (while, until, provided that), ‘postquam’ (after), and ‘ubi’ (where, as soon as).
Pay attention to the use of the subjunctive or indicative mood in temporal clauses, often determined by the conjunction and the sense of the sentence.

Cum Temporal Clauses

‘Cum’ is used to introduce cum temporal clauses and it is followed by the subjunctive when it means ‘when’, and followed by indicative when it means ‘because’.
For example, ‘cum venisset, cenavit’ translates to ‘when he had come, he dined’.

Dum and Postquam Temporal Clauses

‘Dum’ and ‘postquam’ introduce temporal clauses that refer to ‘until’ and ‘after’ respectively.
With ‘dum’ and ‘postquam’, the action in the temporal clause happened before the action in the main sentence. ‘Dum’ is followed by subjunctive and ‘postquam’ by indicative.
For examples, ‘postquam venit, cenavit’ translates to ‘after he came, he dined’.

Causal Clauses

Causal clauses in Latin express the reason or cause of something, introduced by ‘quod’, ‘quia’, or ‘quoniam’ (because).
‘Quod’, ‘quia’ and ‘quoniam’ are generally followed by the indicative mood in causal clauses.

Concessive Clauses

Concessive clauses in Latin convey a sense of concession (even though, although).
They are usually introduced by ‘quamquam’ (although), ‘quamvis’ (however much), ‘etsi’ (even if), ‘licet’ (though) and ‘cum’ (although).
Concessive clauses often contain the subjunctive mood.

Remember: Successful utilisation and translation of temporal, causal and concessive clauses depend on understanding and identifying the moods, conjunctions and sequence of actions in Latin sentences. Practice translating and writing sentences with these clauses to reinforce your comprehension and usage.