Cases, Descriptions and Examples
Cases, Descriptions, and Examples
Latin For Americans Lesson XXXVII
nominative
1. nominative as subject
The subject of a sentence is put in the nominative.
Cicero oratiōnem habuit Cicero gave a speech
2. nominative as subject complement (predicate nominative)
The subject complement of a sentence with a linking verb is put in the nominative.
Quintus nōn erat stultus Quintus wasn’t stupid
genitive
3. possessive genitive
The genitive is used to indicate the owner (in a wide sense) of the noun it describes.
filius agricolae the son of the farmer; the farmer’s son
dative
4. dative as indirect object
The indirect object of a verb is put in the dative case.
Marcus patrī donum dēdit Marcus gave his father a gift
Marcus gave a gift to his father
5. dative with certain adjectives
With certain adjectives the dative is used: aequus ‘equal to,’ amicus ‘friendly to,’ inimicus ‘unfriendly, hostile to,’ gratus ‘pleasing to,’ similis ‘similar to, like,’ dissimilis ‘dissimilar to, unlike,’ proximus ‘nearest to,’ finitimus ‘neighboring, close to,’ and idoneus ‘suitable for’.
erat similis patri he was like a father
verba grata puellis words pleasing to girls
accusative
6. accusative as direct object
The direct object of a verb is in the accusative.
pecuniam invēnērunt they found the money
equum puellae dēdit he gave the girl a horse
7. accusative of motion toward (place to which)
Motion toward (place to which) is expressed by the accusative case with the prepositions in ‘into, against’, ad ‘toward’, per ‘through’ or sub ‘under’.
ad casam festinavit he hurried to the house
sub arborem cucurrit she ran under the tree
8. accusative as subject of infinitive
Some verbs, e.g. doceo, -ēre, 2 ‘to teach’; iubeo, -ēre, 2 ‘to order’; and cupio, -ere, 3 [io] ‘to wish,want’ frequently have infinitives functioning as direct objects, with an accusative as subject of the infinitive. (In the second example, the linking verb esse also has a subject accusative complement poetam; in the third example, the infinitive also has a direct object Homērum also in the accusative. In these cases of multiple accusatives, the accusative subject usually stands first.)
servōs discēdere iussērunt they ordered the slaves to leave
tē esse poetam semper cupīvī I always wanted you to be a poet
puerōs recitare Homērum docuit he taught the boys to recite Homer
ablative
9. ablative with certain prepositions
Certain prepositions, such as prō ‘for’ and sine ‘without’ take the ablative.
prō patriā pugnavērunt they fought for their fatherland
10. ablative of means or instrument
The ablative is used to express means or instrument; in other words, it answers the question ‘by what means?’. It is usually an object.
gladiīs pugnavērunt they fought with swords
11. ablative of place where
Place where is expressed with the preposition in ‘in’ or sub ‘under’ and the ablative.
in insulā habitant they live on an island
Marcia sub arbore sedet Marcia is sitting under a tree
12. ablative of separation (place from which)
The ablative with the preposition ā or ab ‘from’, dē ‘down from’, ē or ex ‘out of’ is used to express separation.
deus dē caelō vēnit the god came down from the sky
ē silvā cucurrit she ran out of the forest
13. ablative of personal agent
Personal agent is expressed by the ablative with a or ab in passive voice sentences.
ab Antoniō vocābar I was being called by Antonius
14. ablative of manner
The ablative with cum is used to express the manner in which something is done; in other words, it answers the question ‘how? in what manner?’ Cum may be omitted if an adjective modifies the noun.
verba cum curā parāvit he prepared his words with care
eōs magnā (cum) laude accēpit he received them with great praise
15. ablative of accompaniment
The ablative with cum is used to express accompaniment; it generally denotes persons.
cum Marcō ambulābam I was walking with Marcus
vocative
16. vocative as direct address
A vocative is used for direct address. (A vocative looks the same as a nominative, with only two exceptions: a 2nd declension singular noun, proper name or adjective ending in –us has a vocative ending in –e, and a 2nd declension singular noun or proper name (not adjective) ending in -ius has a vocative ending in -ī.). The vocative is usually not in the first position in the sentence.
ambulā, Anna, ad casam! Anna, walk to the house!
quid agis, Marce Tullī? Marcus Tullius, what are you doing?
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