# Latin/Lesson 4-Ablative

## The Ablative Case

The ablative case in Latin has 9 main uses:

1.  With certain prepositions, eg. in, cum, sub, ab
2.  Instrumental ablative, expressing the equivalent of English \"by\",
    \"with\" or \"using\"
3.  Ablative of manner, expressing `<b>`{=html}how`</b>`{=html} an
    action is done, only when an adjective is used alongside it.
    _Example_: `<i>`{=html}Magnā cūrā id
    scrīpsit: he wrote it with great care.`</i>`{=html}
4.  Ablative of time `<b>`{=html}when`</b>`{=html} or `<b>`{=html}within
    which`</b>`{=html}. _note:_ not to be
    mistaken with the `<i>`{=html}accusative`</i>`{=html} of time which
    indicates `<b>`{=html}for how long a period of time`</b>`{=html} an
    action occurs.
5.  Locative Ablative, using the ablative by itself to mean \"in\",
    locating an action in space or time
6.  Ablative of separation or origin, expressing the equivalent of
    English \"from\"
7.  Ablative of comparison; when the first element to be compared was in
    the nominative or accusative case, `<i>`{=html}quam`</i>`{=html} was
    often omitted and the second element followed in the ablative case.
8.  Ablative with special deponents, which is technically the
    `<i>`{=html}instrumental ablative`</i>`{=html} but is used
    idiomatically with a few deponent verbs, such as ūtor, fruor,
    fungor, potior, vēscor
9.  Ablative Absolute, which is a type of participial phrase generally
    consisting of a noun (or pronoun) and a modifying participle in the
    ablative case; usually set off by commas, the phrase describes some
    general circumstances under which the action of the sentence occurs.

The different uses of the ablative will be dealt progressively. For a
summary of all forms of the ablative, please consult the Appendix.

## Grammar Part 5: The Power of the Ablative Case

Ablative generally indicates position in time and/or space (i.e. when
and where). It can also indicate the idea of ways of getting to a
location, abstractly or concretely.

### Ablative of Means

#### Exercise

How would you translate \"I made the toga by hand\"?

-   ***Hint:** You would not (and should not) use the genitive. The case
    you are studying right now can be used _by
    itself_ for this goal.*
-   ***Hint:** Remember that you won\'t need to use the pronoun \"I,\"
    since Latin is based not on word order, but on the endings!*
-   ***Glossary:***

    :   \"to make\" - *Facio* (\"I make\"), *facere* (\"to make\"),
        *feci* (\"I made\"), *factus* (\"made\")
    :   \"toga\" - *Toga*, *togae* feminine
    :   \"hand\" - *Manus*, *manus* feminine (This is fourth declension)

##### Answer

Answer: *Togam manu feci*.

In this case, the word \"manu\" is in the ablative (see fourth
declension list) and thus means \"by hand.\"

#### Exercise

I have my wisdom by means of my teacher.

-   **\'Glossary**:\'\'

    :   \"wisdom\" - *Sapientia, sapientiae* feminine
    :   \"to have\" - *Habeo* (\"I have\"), *habere* (\"to have\"),
        *habui* (\"I had\"), *habitus* (\"had\")
    :   \"teacher\" - *Magister, magistri* masculine (This is a second
        declension word, despite the \'r\' at the end, like puer.)

##### Answer

Answer: *Habeo sapientiam magistro.*

### Ablative of Time

How would you say: *I will arrive at the 5th hour.*

\'at the 5th hour\' is indicating position of time. Thus, it can be put
into the ablative case, giving:

`<i>`{=html}adveniam quinta hora`</i>`{=html}

In general, therefore, in order to say \"In the morning\", \"At nine
O\'clock,\" or \"In the tenth year,\" use ablative. It is generally used
to refer to a specific time in which something has, does, or will occur.

Example: I will leave in the night.

Hint: Future tense can be looked up in the appendices of this Wikibook!

Hint: to leave- discedo, discedere; night- nox, noctis(This is a third
declension word!)

##### Answer

Answer: Discedam nocte.

Note the simplicity in which Latin translates the six words into simply
two. The ending based language completely negates the need for the words
\"I,\" \"will,\" \"in,\" and \"the.\"

### Ablative of Place

*Naves navigabant mari.* The ships were sailing on the sea.

The ablative is also useful for showing the location of things, in
general where you would use the words on, in, or at. There is an
exception for the slightly more archaic locative, which is used with the
words *domi* (from *domus, domus, f.*, home), *ruri* (from *rus, ruris,
n.*, country \[as opposed to city\]), and *Romae* (from *Roma, Romae,
f.*, Rome), as well as with the names of towns, cities and small
islands.

Latin has its own way of handling prepositions depending on the nouns
and their cases in the sentence, including the versatile *in*, which can
take many different meanings depending upon the case of the object.

## Ablative with prepositions

Here are a few prepositions that can take the ablative (for a fuller
list, see the lesson on adverbs and prepositions in the previous
chapter):

  -------------------------------- ----------------------------------
  `<B>`{=html}Latin`</B>`{=html}   `<B>`{=html}English`</B>`{=html}
  *in*[^1]                         in, on
  *a/ab*                           from
  *de*                             down from, concerning
  *e/ex*                           out of, out from
  *cum*                            with
  *sine*                           without
  *pro*                            on behalf of, in front of
  *super*[^2]                      upon, above, beyond
  *sub*[^3]                        under, beneath
  -------------------------------- ----------------------------------

```{=html}
<references/>
```
As a general rule, when motion is implied, use the accusative instead.

### Example 3

*Servus ex agris venit.*

:   \"The slave came from the fields.\"

Note: *Ager* (*ager, agri, m.*, field) must take an ablative suffix to
match the preceding preposition, in this case *e*/*ex*.

Incidentally, both *ager* and *campus* mean \"field,\" but *ager*, like
its English derivative \"agriculture\", connotes a farming field, while
*campus* (think \"camping\" or \"college campus\") means \"open field.\"
The *Campus Martius* was a large field in Rome used for military
training.

## The Vocative Case

While you will rarely need to ask Lupus where the bathroom is in Latin,
you may find yourself reading either quotes or letters in which a person
is being directly addressed. The case it will be in is the vocative.

For example, \"Hail, Augustus\" will appear in Latin as Ave Auguste, and
not Ave Augustus.

Each declension has its own form of the vocative singular and plural.
They are listed in the table below.

Furthermore, in all but the second declension, the nominative and
vocative are exactly the same!

  ------------ ------- ------------------------ ------- -------- -------
  Number       First   Second\*                 Third   Fourth   Fifth
  Singular     a       us-\>e, ius-\>i, r-\>r   \--     us       es
  Plural\*\*   ae      i                        es      us       es
                                                                 
  ------------ ------- ------------------------ ------- -------- -------

-   In the second declension singular, there are three separate
    possibilities for the vocative, depending on its nominative ending.
    Hence, if it is a us word, it will become an e and so forth.

#### Examples for different declensions in the second declension

-   **-us:**

    :   Lupus -\>Lupe (given name, wolf)
-   **-ius:**

    :   Filius -\> Fili (son)
    :   Horatius-\> Horati (given name)
-   **-r:**

    :   Puer-\> Puer (boy)

:   *In all cases, the plural vocative is exactly the same as the plural
    nominative. This extends to those words which are neuter, which
    always have an \'a\' for the nominative and vocative.*

#### Examples

1.  Hello, Sextus.(Hello= *Salve*)\*

    :   Salve, Sext**e**.
2.  Speak, girl! (Speak= *dico, dicere, dixi*)\*

    :   Dic, puell**a**.
3.  Knee, run!\*(Knee= *genu*; run= *curro, currere, cucurri*)\*

    :   Gen**u**, curre!
4.  Oh, heart, why do you lead me? (Oh-o; heart- cor, cordis-f.;
    lead-duco, ducere;

    :   O, cor! Cur ducis tu me?

-   Note that the first three also require use of the imperative. The
    imperative is used when ordering or telling someone what to do,
    e.g.- \"Stop,\" or \"Get away from me.\"

The basic form of the imperative is created by dropping the \"re\" off
of the infinitive form of the verb, as in: Amare, which becomes Ama; at
least in the singular active form, which is all that these exercises
require. More can be found about this subject in the chapter on verbs.

[^1]: Means \"into\" or \"against\" when used with the accusative

[^2]: Has static meaning when used with the ablative but connotes motion
    when used with the accusative

[^3]: Usually means \"up to\" or \"up to the foot of\" when used with
    the accusative
