Latin Scholars?

Question

I'm currently learning Latin in H.S & i was wondering, what is the Ablative case? When do you use it?


Thanks everyone, i really appreciate it!

Also, what is ablative form of the word "senator" ?

Answer 1

The ablative case is essential after certain prepositions. These are the ones:

a or ab, absque, coram, de,
palam, clam, c-u-m, ex and e;
sine, tenus, pro and prae
super, subter, sub and in.

The last four of those can take the accusative case too. Just a warning!

The ablative case comes into its own too in something called the "ablative absolute". This is not so alarming as it sounds. "Having done this, I then go on to do something else."

The "having done this" would be couched in the ablative. You'll no doubt come to that later and take it in your stride.

The ablative of senator is "senatore". "By, with, from the senator."

Answer 2

The Latin ablative case (ablativus) has at least fifteen documented uses. Generalizing their function, however, ablatives modify or limit verbs by ideas of where (place), when (time), how (manner), etc. Hence, the case is sometimes also called the adverbial case; this can be quite literal, as phrases in ablative can be translated as adverbs. E.g. magnā (***) celeritāte, literally "with great speed," may also be written "very quickly."

Active motion away from a place is only one particular use of the ablative case and is called the ablative of place from which. Nouns, either proper or common, are almost always used in this sense with accompanying prepositions of ab/ā/abs, "from"; e/ē, "out of"; or dē, "down from". E.g. ex agrīs, "from the country"; ex Graeciā ad Italiam navigāvērunt, "They sailed from Greece to Italy."

A closely related construction is called the ablative of separation. This usage of the ablative 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 cáreō or līberō. E.g. Cicerō hostēs ab urbe prohibuit, "Cicero kept the enemy away from the city"; Eōs timōre līberāvit, "He freed them from fear."

The Latin ablative may also be used to indicate:

the means by which an action was carried out. E.g. oculīs vidēre, "to see with the eyes". This is known as the ablative of means or of instrument, and is equivalent to the instrumental case found in some other languages. Special deponent verbs in Latin sometimes use the ablative of means idiomatically. E.g. Ūtitur stilō literally says "he is benefiting himself by means of a pencil"; however, the phrase is more aptly translated "he is using a pencil."
the manner in which an action was carried out. The preposition *** (meaning "with") is used when (i) no adjective describes the noun E.g. *** cūrā, "with care," or (ii) optionally after the adjective(s) and before the noun E.g. magnā (***) celeritāte, "with great speed." This is known as the ablative of manner.
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." This is known as the ablative of time when or within which.
the circumstances surrounding an action. E.g. Urbe captā, Aenēas fugit, "With the city having been captured, Aeneas fled." This is known as the ablative absolute.
with whom something was done. Nouns in this construction are always accompanied by the preposition ***. E.g. *** eīs, "with them"; *** amīcīs vēnērunt, "They came with friends." This is known as the ablative of accompaniment.
the whole to which a certain number belongs or is a part. E.g. centum ex virīs, "one hundred of the men; quīnque ex eīs, "five of them."
agent by whom the action of a passive verb is performed. The agent is always preceded by ab/ā/abs. E.g. Caesar ā dīs admonētur, "Caesar is warned by the gods." This is known as the ablative of personal agent.