| Nouns |
|
How do I use the Ablative Case?
There are several ways of using the ablative case; however, the most important five are:
- place where & from
- specific time
- means
- manner
- accompaniment
The ablative case is given in the Ecce Romani textbook on pages 90 & 91.
The textbook uses different terminology in some cases. What I have given is more
technical and will be used in Latin II. Let's go over the above uses.
Ablative of place where
- points out location (in/on)
- uses the preposition in (meaning in/on)
- examples:
- in the farmhouse = in villâ
- in the tree = in arbore (notice the -e on tree = Abl. 3rd Declension)
- in the city = in urbe
- in the gardens = in hortîs
Ablative of place from which
- points out location (from which)
- uses the prepositions â/ab,ê e/ex, dê (away from, out of,
down from) but all three generally mean "from"
- examples:
- down from/from the trees = dê arboribus
- down from/from the wagon = dê plaustrô
- out of/from the house = ê casâ
- out of/from the water = ex aquâ
- away from dog = â cane
Ablative of accompaniment
- always involves a person or an animal
- use the preposition "cum" meaning "with"
- examples:
- with my mother/father = cum meâ matre/cum meô patre
- with a woman/man = cum feminâ /cum virô
- with a soldier = cum milite
- with many slaves = cum multîs servîs
- with good friends = cum bonîs amicîs
- with a big dog = cum magnô cane
Ablative of specific time (textbook may call it ablative of time when)
- always involves vocabulary words referring to time (day, night, morning, 2nd hour,
weeks, months, years, etc.)
- never uses a preposition (The English prepositional phrase is translated without
a preposition.)
- examples:
- in the summer = aestate
- in the winter = hieme
- in a short time = brevî tempore
- in/at night = nocte
Ablative of Means (instrument)
- always involves a tangible thing (something you can see or touch)
- never uses a preposition
- expresses the means by which something is done.
- examples:
- I will beat this slave with a stick. (baculô)
Do not translate the preposition: (cum baculô)
- I will signal the troops with a trumpet. (tubâ)
Do not translate the preposition: (cum tubâ)
Ablative of Manner
- always involves an intangible thing (cannot see or touch it but can see the effects of it)
- uses the preposition"cum"
- "cum" may be omitted when there is an adjective used with the noun of
"Manner"If you use "cum" with the adjective and noun, put
"cum" in the middle.
- examples:
- I will run with speed. cum celeritate
- I will run with great speed. magnâ cum celeritate or magnâ celeritate
- Mary graduated with praise. cum laude
- Mary graduated with great praise. magnâ cum laude
- Mary graduated with the greatest praise. summa cum laude
- Jim works with great care. magnâ cum diligentia or
magnâ diligentiâ
- Martha shouts in/with a loud voice. magnâ voce or
magnâ cum voce
There are other uses of the Ablative to learn in 2nd year Latin.
^ Grammatica