- Prepositional Phrases
- Expressions of Place
- Expressions of Time
- Prepositional Phrases
- Expressions of Place
- Expressions of Time
Prepositional Phrases
In Latin, prepositions (like “in”, “into”, “with”, “to”, English) are indeclinable words followed by a noun in the ablative or accusative (called the object of the preposition). This unit consisting of preposition and the object of the preposition is called a prepositional phrase.
We saw an example of this in the previous module with the ablative of agent. With a passive verb, you can use the preposition ā/ab with a word in the ablative case to indicate who performed the action of the verb. For example:
puer ā puellā amatus est. The boy was loved by the girl.
The prepositional phrase is ā puellā, composed of the preposition ā and the object of the preposition puellā.
Prepositional phrases add more information about the main action of the sentence by answering questions like where, why, which, and how:
- Puellam in urbe vīdit. (“She saw the girl in the city.”) (Where did she see the girl? In the city.)
- Ob īgnem fugiēbat. (“He was fleeing because of the fire.”) (Why was he fleeing? Because of the fire.)
- Hercules monstra sub ponte necāvit. (“Hercules killed the monsters under the bridge.) (Which monsters did Hercules kill? The ones under the bridge. OR Where did Hercules kill the monsters? Under the bridge.)
Expressions of Place
Latin uses the accusative and ablative case, frequently with prepositions, to express ideas related to space and place.
Below are the different expressions of place used in Latin:
1) Accusative of place to which or motion toward (ad, trāns, or in + accusative):
- Currēbat ad pātrem. (“She was running towards her father.”)
- Vēnit in urbem. (“He came into the city.”)
The accusative of place to which or motion toward is almost always used with a verb that indicates physical motion; for example, venīre, “to come” or currere, “to run.”
NB: In the case of cities, small towns, and the words domus (“home”) and rūs (“countryside”), Latin uses the accusative without a preposition. No need to worry about this now, but just something to keep in mind.
2) Ablative of place where (in or prō + ablative):
- Hercules in rēgnō Theseī vīxit. (“Hercules lived in the kingdom of Theseus.”)
- Mīlitēs prō castris pugnābant. (“The soldiers were fighting in front of the camps.”)
NB: In the case of cities, small towns, and the words domus (“home”) and rūs (“countryside”), Latin uses the locative case without a preposition. No need to worry about this now, but just something to keep in mind.
3) Ablative of place from which or motion from (ā/ab or ē/ex + ablative):
- Puella ab urbe fugiēbat. (“The girl was fleeing from the city.”)
- Nāvis ex portō nāvigāvit. (“The ship sailed out of the port.”)
The ablative of place from which or motion from is almost always used with a verb that indicates physical motion; for example, fugere, “to flee” or navigāre, “to sail.”
4) Accusative of extent of space (no preposition):
- Puer quīnque pedes altus est. (“The boy is five feet tall.”)
Expressions of Time
The accusative and ablative cases (without prepositions) can also be used to express ideas related to time. You can often spot these uses if the accusative or ablative in question is a word that relates to time: for example,
- annus, ī, m., “year”
- mensis, -is, m., “month”
- nox, noctis, f., “night”
- lux, lucis, f., “light” (as in daylight)
- hora, -ae, f., “hour”
In each of the time expressions below, note that in translation, we have to insert prepositions to make the translation make sense. They are not explicitly in the Latin as they were in expressions of place, so we have to identify the specific time expression to translate it correctly.
Below are the ways that Latin expresses ideas of time:
1) Accusative of extent/length of time (no preposition) (“for ____”):
- Quattuor annōs in illā urbe labōrāvit. (“They worked for four years in that city”).
- Quīnque mēnsēs prō templō vīxērunt. (“They lived in front of the temple for five months.”).
2) Ablative of time when (no preposition) (“in/at/on ____”):
- Illā nocte puella ab agrīs cucurrit. (“On that night, the girl ran from the fields.”)
- Nāvis primā lūce ex insulā nāvigāvit. (“The ship sailed away from the island at first light.”)
3) Ablative of time within which (no preposition) (“within/in ___”):
- Primō annō regnī Carthāginem vīcit. (“In the first year of his reign, he conquered Carthage”).
- Quīnque horīs ad urbem vēnērunt. (“Within five hours, they arrived at the city.”)
The ablative of time within which species a range of time within which something happened, while the ablative of time when pinpoints an exact time at which the verb happened. There can be some slippage between the two depending on how you interpret the time expression. For example, in the sentence:
Illā nocte puella ab agrīs cucurrit.
used above as an example of an ablative of time when, we might also interpret illā nocte as an ablative of time within which, yielding the translation:
“Within that night, the girl ran away from the fields.”
Prepositional Phrases
In Latin, prepositions (like “in”, “into”, “with”, “to”, English) are indeclinable words followed by a noun in the ablative or accusative (called the object of the preposition). This unit consisting of preposition and the object of the preposition is called a prepositional phrase.
We saw an example of this in the previous module with the ablative of agent. With a passive verb, you can use the preposition ā/ab with a word in the ablative case to indicate who performed the action of the verb. For example:
puer ā puellā amatus est. The boy was loved by the girl.
The prepositional phrase is ā puellā, composed of the preposition ā and the object of the preposition puellā.
Prepositional phrases add more information about the main action of the sentence by answering questions like where, why, which, and how:
- Puellam in urbe vīdit. (“She saw the girl in the city.”) (Where did she see the girl? In the city.)
- Ob īgnem fugiēbat. (“He was fleeing because of the fire.”) (Why was he fleeing? Because of the fire.)
- Hercules monstra sub ponte necāvit. (“Hercules killed the monsters under the bridge.) (Which monsters did Hercules kill? The ones under the bridge. OR Where did Hercules kill the monsters? Under the bridge.)
Expressions of Place
Latin uses the accusative and ablative case, frequently with prepositions, to express ideas related to space and place.
Below are the different expressions of place used in Latin:
1) Accusative of place to which or motion toward (ad, trāns, or in + accusative):
- Currēbat ad pātrem. (“She was running towards her father.”)
- Vēnit in urbem. (“He came into the city.”)
The accusative of place to which or motion toward is almost always used with a verb that indicates physical motion; for example, venīre, “to come” or currere, “to run.”
NB: In the case of cities, small towns, and the words domus (“home”) and rūs (“countryside”), Latin uses the accusative without a preposition. No need to worry about this now, but just something to keep in mind.
2) Ablative of place where (in or prō + ablative):
- Hercules in rēgnō Theseī vīxit. (“Hercules lived in the kingdom of Theseus.”)
- Mīlitēs prō castris pugnābant. (“The soldiers were fighting in front of the camps.”)
NB: In the case of cities, small towns, and the words domus (“home”) and rūs (“countryside”), Latin uses the locative case without a preposition. No need to worry about this now, but just something to keep in mind.
3) Ablative of place from which or motion from (ā/ab or ē/ex + ablative):
- Puella ab urbe fugiēbat. (“The girl was fleeing from the city.”)
- Nāvis ex portō nāvigāvit. (“The ship sailed out of the port.”)
The ablative of place from which or motion from is almost always used with a verb that indicates physical motion; for example, fugere, “to flee” or navigāre, “to sail.”
4) Accusative of extent of space (no preposition):
- Puer quīnque pedes altus est. (“The boy is five feet tall.”)
Expressions of Time
The accusative and ablative cases (without prepositions) can also be used to express ideas related to time. You can often spot these uses if the accusative or ablative in question is a word that relates to time: for example,
- annus, ī, m., “year”
- mensis, -is, m., “month”
- nox, noctis, f., “night”
- lux, lucis, f., “light” (as in daylight)
- hora, -ae, f., “hour”
In each of the time expressions below, note that in translation, we have to insert prepositions to make the translation make sense. They are not explicitly in the Latin as they were in expressions of place, so we have to identify the specific time expression to translate it correctly.
Below are the ways that Latin expresses ideas of time:
1) Accusative of extent/length of time (no preposition) (“for ____”):
- Quattuor annōs in illā urbe labōrāvit. (“They worked for four years in that city”).
- Quīnque mēnsēs prō templō vīxērunt. (“They lived in front of the temple for five months.”).
2) Ablative of time when (no preposition) (“in/at/on ____”):
- Illā nocte puella ab agrīs cucurrit. (“On that night, the girl ran from the fields.”)
- Nāvis primā lūce ex insulā nāvigāvit. (“The ship sailed away from the island at first light.”)
3) Ablative of time within which (no preposition) (“within/in ___”):
- Primō annō regnī Carthāginem vīcit. (“In the first year of his reign, he conquered Carthage”).
- Quīnque horīs ad urbem vēnērunt. (“Within five hours, they arrived at the city.”)
The ablative of time within which species a range of time within which something happened, while the ablative of time when pinpoints an exact time at which the verb happened. There can be some slippage between the two depending on how you interpret the time expression. For example, in the sentence:
Illā nocte puella ab agrīs cucurrit.
used above as an example of an ablative of time when, we might also interpret illā nocte as an ablative of time within which, yielding the translation:
“Within that night, the girl ran away from the fields.”