ABLATIVES!

I’m going to start a running list of ablatives here I’m going to start a running list of ablatives here. As you click forward, each slide will contain a different ablative. So far, there are twelve which constitute most of the ablatives I will ever teach you.

Ablative of Place Where This ablative sometimes uses the preposition in, but not always. It’s very common, you’ve seen them since chapter 1, and it simply tells you where things happen. Cornelia in Italiâ habitat. –Cornelia lives in Italy. Marcus habitat Româ. –Marcus lives in Rome.

Ablative of Time When This ablative is usually fairly easy to pick out. It only shows up with time related words, such as: eô temporê –at that moment illa noctê –that night Ianuariô –in January

Ablative of Place from Which This ablative will always be used with one of three prepositions: ab, ex or de. Sextus ex arborê cadit. –Sextus falls out of the tree. Cornelia ab villâ ambulat. –Cornelia walks away from the house. De raedâ se iacit Syrus. –Syrus jumps down from the carriage.

Ablative of Accompaniment This ablative is always used with the preposition cum. This describes when someone does an action with someone else. Cornelia cum Flaviâ sedet. –Cornelia sits with Flavia. Davus Getam petit cum servîs. –Dave seeks Geta with the slaves.

Ablative of Means/Instrument This ablative will never show up with a preposition in Latin. It will just be an ablative noun hanging out by itself. We saw two of them at the end of chapter 12. It expresses the thing that you use to do something. Davus Getam tunicâ arripit… –Davus grabs Geta by the tunic… …et baculô verberat. -…and beats (him) with a stick. NOTE: There is a preposition in English (by or with) but not in Latin.

Ablative of Manner This ablative, like means, also never gets a preposition, and it explains how things are done. It always shows up with an adjective and noun together, both in the ablative. Aurelia Marcum excitat magnâ você. –Aurelia wakes up Marucs with a loud voice. Davus Getam sollicitô vultû petit. –Davus looks for Geta with a worried expression.

Ablative of Cause This one can be used with or without a preposition (I usually see it without). It shows the cause of some action or state of mind. This use of the ablative is sometimes difficult to distinguish from the ablative of means. Corneilius magnâ irâ commotus Syrum verberat. –Cornelius, moved by great anger, beats Syrus.

Ablative of Agent This one is used after passive verbs or passive participles, since there is no subject to express the agent of the action. It always comes after the preposition ab, to show by whom the action is done. Caesar interficitur ab quibusdam senatoribus. –Caesar was murdered by certain senators.

Ablative of Comparison The ablative case may be used to mean than after a comparison instead of using quam. Cato melior Ciceronê est. –Cato is better than Cicero. AS COMPARED TO... Cato melior quam Cicero est. –Cato is better than Cicero.

Ablative of Degree of Difference Expresses the degree to which or by how much. Often used in conjunction with comparatives or words implying comparison. Heri ego multô aegrior. –Yesterday I was much sicker. Longior sum quam pater paulô. –I am taller than my father by a little. NOTE: At times you will find the ablative of degree of difference used with the correlatives quo… eo and tanto… quanto which often translate “by how much… by that much.”

Ablative of Price The ablative may denote the price of a thing (the genitive can do this, too). Elvis canem sex milibus sesterium vendit. –Elvis is selling his dog for six thousand sesterces. Emam carminê tuam cenam. –I will buy that dinner from you for a song.

Ablative Absolute This ablative phrase always contains at least two words, typically an ablative noun and an ablative participle. Its meaning can be taken out of the sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence; it merely gives a circumstance under which the sentence took place. Bellô perfectô, Caesar Romam rediit. –With the war completed, Caesar returned to Rome. Liberîs lacrimantibus, mater dormiebat. –With the children crying, the mother was alseep. NOTE: The absolute can sometimes appear as two nouns, seen most often as the example below. Fufidiô consulê, urbs crescebatur. –With Fufidius as consul, the city grew (was increased).