Latin grammar Latin is a heavily inflected languages, inflected language with largely free word order. Nouns are inflected for grammatical number, number and grammatical case, case; pronouns and adjectives (including participles) are inflected for number, cas ...

, the ablative case () is one of the six cases of

noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, d ...

s. Traditionally, it is the sixth case (). It has forms and functions derived from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

ablative,

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

, and

locative In grammar, the locative case (abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which indicates a location. It corresponds vaguely to the English prepositions "in", "on", "at", and "by". The locative case belongs to the general local cases, together with the ...

. It expresses concepts similar to those of the English prepositions ''from''; ''with'', ''by''; and ''in'', ''at''. It is sometimes called the

adverbial case The adverbial case (abbreviated ) is a noun case in Abkhaz and Georgian with a function similar to that of the translative and essive cases in Finnic languages. It is also featured in Udmurt. The term is sometimes used to refer to the ablative ...

, since phrases in the ablative can be translated as

adverb An adverb is a word or an expression that generally modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering ...

s: , "with incredible speed", or "very quickly".

Uses

Ablative proper

Some uses of the ablative descend from the

ablative case. * Ablative of separation implies that some person or thing is separated from another. No active movement from one location to the next occurs; furthermore, ablatives of separation sometimes lack a preposition, particularly with certain verbs like ''careō'' or ''līberō''. For example, ''Cicerō hostēs ab urbe prohibuit'', "Cicero kept the enemy away from the city"; ''eōs timōre līberāvit'', "he freed them from fear". * Ablative of place from which describes active motion away from a place. Nouns, either proper or common, are almost always used in this sense with accompanying prepositions ''ab/ā/abs'', "from"; ''ex/ē'', "out of"; or ''dē'', "down from". For example, ''ex agrīs'', "from the fields"; ''ex Graeciā in Italiam nāvigāvērunt'', "They sailed from Greece to Italy." :It can also be used for the whole to which a certain number belongs or is a part. Example: ''ex eīs ūnus'' "one of them". :Cities and small islands, as well as the word ''domus'', use this ablative even without a preposition: ''Athēnīs discessit'' "he departed from Athens". * Ablative of personal agent marks the agent by whom the action of a passive verb is performed. The agent is always preceded by ''ab/ā/abs''. Example: ''Caesar ā deīs admonētur'', "Caesar is warned by the gods". * Ablative of comparison is used with comparative adjectives, where English would use the conjunction "than". Example: ''aere perennius'' "longer-lasting than bronze". * Ablative of cause marks the reason why the subject performs an action: ''exsiluī gaudiō'' "I jumped with joy".

Instrumental ablative

Some uses of the ablative descend from the

instrumental case In grammar, the instrumental case (abbreviated or ) is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the ''instrument'' or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action. The noun may be either a physical object or an ...

. * Ablative of instrument or of means marks the means by which an action is carried out: ''oculīs vidēre'', "to see with the eyes". This is equivalent to the

found in some other languages.

Deponent verb In linguistics, a deponent verb is a verb that is active in meaning but takes its form from a different voice, most commonly the middle or passive. A deponent verb has no active forms. Languages with deponent verbs ''This list may not be exhau ...

s in Latin sometimes use the ablative of means idiomatically: ''ūtitur stilō'' literally means "he is benefiting himself by means of a stylus (writing instrument)"; however, the phrase is more aptly translated "he is using a stylus". * Ablative of agent is a more generalized version of the ablative of personal agent, used when the agent is an inanimate object. When the agent is a person, the preposition ''ā/ab'' is used, for example ''rēx ā mīlitibus interfectus est'' "The king was killed by the soldiers"; but when the agent is a thing, the preposition is omitted and the ablative case is sufficient, for example: ''rēx armīs mīlitum interfectus est'' "the king was killed by the weapons of the soldiers". * Ablative of manner describes the manner in which an action was carried out. The preposition ''cum'' (meaning "with") is used ** when no adjective describes the noun (''cum cūrā'', "with care"), or ** optionally after the adjective(s) and before the noun: ''magnā (cum) cūrā'', "with great care". * Ablative of attendant circumstances is similar: ''magnō cum clāmōre cīvium ad urbem perveniunt'' ("They reach the city to the great clamour of the citizens") * Ablative of accompaniment describes with whom something was done. Nouns and pronouns in this construction are always accompanied by the preposition ''cum'': ''cum eīs'', "with them"; ''cum amīcīs vēnērunt'', "They came with friends." * Ablative of degree of difference is used with comparative adjectives and words implying comparison: ''aliquot ante annīs'' "a few years earlier" (lit. "earlier by a few years"). * Ablative of specification denotes the thing in respect to which something is specified: ''maior nātū'' "older by birth". * Ablative of description or of quality is an ablative modified by an adjective or genitive that expresses a quality that something has: ''vir summā virtūte'' "a gentleman of highest virtue".

Locative ablative

Some meanings of the ablative descend from the Proto-Indo-European

locative case In grammar, the locative case (abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which indicates a location. It corresponds vaguely to the English prepositions "in", "on", "at", and "by". The locative case belongs to the general local cases, together with the ...

. * Ablative of place where marks a location where an action occurred. It usually appears with a preposition, such as ''in'', but not always; e.g., ''hōc locō'' "in this place" * Ablative of time when and within which marks the time when or within which an action occurred. E.g., ''aestāte'', "in summer"; ''eō tempore'', "at that time"; ''paucīs hōrīs id faciet'', "within a few hours he will do it." Compare with the

accusative of time The accusative case (abbreviated ) of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. In the English language, the only words that occur in the accusative case are pronouns: 'me,' 'him,' 'her,' 'us,' and ‘the ...

, which was used for duration of time and—in classical Latin, following Greek—for dates of the form ''ante diem N. Kal./Non./Id.'' (In early Latin, such dates were given in the ablative instead.) * Ablative absolute describes the circumstances surrounding an action; e.g., ''urbe captā cīvēs fūgērunt,'' "with the city having been captured, the citizens fled."; ''Deō volente,'' "God willing".

Ablative with prepositions

The ablative case is very frequently used with prepositions, for example "out of the city", "with him". Four prepositions (''in'' "in/into", ''sub'' "under/to the foot of", ''subter'' "under", ''super'' "over") may take either an

accusative The accusative case (abbreviated ) of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. In the English language, the only words that occur in the accusative case are pronouns: 'me,' 'him,' 'her,' 'us,' and ‘the ...

or an ablative. In the case of the first two, the accusative indicates motion, and the ablative indicates no motion. For instance, ''in urbe'' means "in the city"; ''in urbem'', "into the city". In the case of ''super'', the accusative means "above" or "over", and the ablative means "concerning". The prepositions which are followed by the ablative case are the following: See also:

SIDSPACE SIDSPACE is a mnemonic used in remembering which Latin prepositions take the ablative case. SIDSPACE stands for the following prepositions: sub (during), in (at), de (about), sine (without), pro (before), ab (after), cum (with), and ex (from).< ...

References

Bibliography

* {{Cite book , last1=Allen , first1=Joseph A. , last2=Greenough , first2=James B. , author-link2=James B. Greenough , orig-year=1903 , editor-last=Mahoney , editor-first=Anne , year=2001 , title=New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges , location=Newburyport, Massachusetts , publisher=R. Pullins Company , isbn=1-58510-042-0 , display-editors=0 , display-authors=1 Latin declension Latin grammar Grammatical cases