LESSON VI
FIRST PRINCIPLES (Continued)
48. The Ablative Case. Another case, lacking in English but found in the fuller Latin declension, is the ab’la-tive.
49. When the nominative singular ends in -a, the ablative singular ends in -ā and the ablative plural in -īs.
a. Observe that the final -ǎ of the nominative is short, while the final -ā of the ablative is long, as,
| Nom. fīliǎ | Abl. fīliā |
b. Observe that the ablative plural is like the dative plural.
c. Form the ablative singular and plural of the following nouns: fuga, causa, fortūna, terra, aqua, puella, agricola, nauta, domina.
50. The Ablative Relation. The ablative case is used to express the relations conveyed in English by the prepositions from, with, by, at, in. It denotes
1. That from which something is separated, from which it starts, or of which it is deprived — generally translated by from.
2. That with which something is associated or by means of which it is done — translated by with or by.
3. The place where or the time when something happens — translated by in or at.
a. What ablative relations do you discover in the following?
In our class there are twenty boys and girls. Daily at eight o'clock they come from home with their books, and while they are at school they study Latin with great zeal. In a short time they will be able to read with ease the books written by the Romans. By patience and perseverance all things in this world can be overcome.
51. Prepositions. While, as stated above (§41), many relations expressed in English by prepositions are in Latin expressed by case forms, still prepositions are of frequent occurrence, but only with the accusative or ablative.
