Latin 101

You are already used to the ideas behind these constructions. You've learned to translate "ab" plus the ablative, for example, as "from, away from."

Ablative of place from which:

• The construction includes:
  • a) a verb of active motion (e.g., sail, flow, march, come, send);
  • b) a preposition indicating motion that takes the ablative (e.g., ab, dë, ex).
  • c) a location (in the ablative) that is the object of the preposition.

  Examples:

  • Graecï ä patriä suä ad Italiam navigävërunt.
  • Flümen dë montibus in mare flüxit.
  • Multï ex agrïs in urbem venient.
  • Cicerö hostës ab urbe mïsit.

  Notes on the preposition:

  • dë is often used to convey a sense of "down from (e.g., mountains)
  • ex is often used to convey a sense of out of the interior of a place
  • ä/ab is often used to convey a sense of away from the border of a place

Ablative of separation:

• The construction includes:
  • a) a verb describing a state of separation (i.e., no movement)
  • b) a noun in the ablative indicating what the subject of the verb is separated from.
  • c) no prepositions are used in this construction.

  Examples:

  • Cicerö hostës ab urbe prohibuit. [why "ab" here?]
  • Eös timöre lïberävit.
  • Agricolae pecüniä saepe carëbant.