GRAMMATICA - CAPITULUM SEXTUM

I. PREPOSITIONS

A. Some prepositions – as we have seen - are followed by the ablative case:

1. in – Iūlia est in hortō. (Julia is in the garden)

2. ā/ab (ab ante vocālēs [a, e, i, o, u, h]; ā ante cōnsonantēs) – Puerī discēdunt ab Aemiliā, et ā servīs. (The boys are going away from Amelia and from the slaves)

3. ē/ex (ex ante vocālēs [a, e, i, o, u, h]; ē ante cōnsonantēs) – Iūlia venit ex hortō, et ē peristylō. (Julia is coming out of the garden and out of the peristyle)

4. cum – Syrus ambulat cum cēterīs servīs (Syrus is walking with the other slaves)

5. sine – Sine rosīs puellae pulchrae nōn sunt. (Without roses girls are not beautiful)

B. Some prepositions – as we see in this chapter - are followed by the accusative case:

1. ad – Virī ambulant ad oppidum. (The men walk to the town)

2. ante – Ursus ambulat ante cēterōs servōs. (Ursus walks in front of the other slaves)

3. post – Syrus ambulat post cēterōs servōs. (Syrus walks behind the other slaves)

4. inter – Iūlius lectīcā vehitur inter duōs servōs. (Julius is carried in the lectica between two slaves)

5. prope – Virī sunt prope vīllam. (The men are near the villa)

6. apud – Quattuor servī sunt apud Iūlium. (Four slaves are with Julius)

II. WHERE, WHITHER, WHENCE (place in which, place to which, place from which)

A. Ubi? asks the question where. How to answer depends on whether the place is a town or small island.

1. If the answer is the name of a town or small island, use the locative case without any preposition.

2. For names of towns or small islands in the first or second declensions, the locative case is the same as the genitive.

a. Rōmae = in Rome or at Rome

b. Tūsculī = in Tusculum or at Tusculum

3. If the answer is not the name of a town or small island, use in + the ablative case.

a. in hortō, in oppidō, in Italiā, in vīllā

B. Quō? asks the question whither (to where, to what place). Again how to answer depends on whether the place is a town or small island.

1. If the answer is the name of a town or small island, use the accusative case without any preposition.

a. Mēdus it Rōmam. (Mēdus is going to Rome)

b. Cornēlius it Tūsculum. (Cornelius is going to Tusculum)

2. If the answer is not the name of a town or small island, use ad + the accusative case.

a. ad hortum, ad oppidum, ad Italiam, ad vīllam

C. Unde? asks the question whence (from where, from what place). As with the other two where words, how to answer depends on whether the place is a town or small island.

1. If the answer is the name of town or small island, use the ablative case without any preposition.

a. Iūlius venit Tūsculō. (Julius is coming from Tusculum)

b. Cornēlius venit Rōmā. (Cornelius is coming from Rome)

2. If the answer is not the name of a town or small island, use ā/ab or ē/ex + the ablative case.

a. ā vīllā, ab hortō, ab oppidō, ab Italiā

b. ē vīllā, ex hortō, ex oppido, ex Italiā

D. Here is the same information in chart form:

Place	Ordinary Form	Towns, Cities, Small Islands
in which, where	in + ablative	locative case (same spelling as genitive case) – no preposition
to which, whither	ad + accusative	accusative case – no preposition
from which, whence	ā/ab, ē/ex + ablative	ablative case – no preposition

III. PASSIVE VOICE

A. A verb is active when the subject does the action:

1. Mārcus Iūliam pulsat. (Marcus hits Julia)

2. Aemilia et Iūlius līberōs amant. (Aemilia and Julius love their children)

B. A verb is passive when the subject is acted upon by someone or something else:

1. Iūlia pulsātur ā Mārcō. (Julia is hit by Marcus)

2. Līberī ab Aemiliā et Iūliō amantur. (The children are loved by Aemilia and Julius)

C. The active verb endings for the third person singular and plural are –t and –nt

D. The passive verb endings for the third person singular and plural are –tur and –ntur

IV. ABLATIVES OF AGENT AND INSTRUMENT/MEANS

A. Agent - When the passive voice of a verb is used, we can say that the subject is passive. Frequently will want to indicate by whom the action of the verb is carried out. That person is expressed by ā/ab + the ablative case. This is called the ablative of personal agent.

1. Iūlia ā Mārcō pulsātur. Here Julia is the passive subject and supplies the information who is being hit. ā Mārco supplies the information by whom she is being hit.

2. Līberī ab Aemiliā et Iūliō amantur. In this sentence līberī is the passive subject and identifies the persons who are loved. ab Aemiliā et Iūliō supplies the information by whom they are loved.

B. Means or Instrument – When we want to express the means or the thing by which the action of the verb is carried out, whether the verb is active or passive, we use the ablative by itself, with no preposition. This is not restricted to passive voice verbs.

1. Iūlius lectīcā vehitur. Here lectīcā – in the ablative – provides the information by or in what thing Julius is being carried.

2. Iūlia verbīs Aemiliae dēlectātur. Here verbīs provides the information by or with what things Iulia is pleased.

3. Dominus servōs baculō verberat. In this sentence, with the active voice of the verb, baculō supplies the information by what means the master beats the slaves: he beats them with a stick.

4. Servī saccōs umerīs portant. The ablative form umerīs gives the information what the slaves are using to carry the bags: they are carrying them with, or on, or by means of their shoulders.

V. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

A. tam. . . quam = so. . . as; or as. . . as

B. īre – an important verb; irregular forms

1. it = he, she, it goes, is going, does go

2. eunt = they go, are going, do go