In Latin grammar

Latin grammar

The grammar of Latin, like that of other ancient Indo-European languages, is highly inflected; consequently, it allows for a large degree of flexibility in choosing word order...

, the ablative case (in Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, cāsus ablātīvus) is one of the six cases

Grammatical case

In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...

 of noun

Noun

In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...

s. It has at least fifteen documented uses. Generalizing their function, however, ablatives modify or limit nouns by ideas of where (place), when (time), how (manner), etc. Hence, the case is sometimes also called the adverbial case

Adverbial case

The adverbial case is a noun case in the Abkhaz language and Georgian language that has a function similar to the translative and essive cases in Finnic languages. It is also featured in the Udmurt language. The term is sometimes used to refer to the ablative case in other languages.-Examples:In...

; this can be quite literal, as phrases in the ablative can be translated as adverb

Adverb

An adverb is a part of speech that modifies verbs or any part of speech other than a noun . Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives , clauses, sentences, and other adverbs....

s. E.g. magnā (cum) celeritāte, literally "with great speed", may also be translated "very quickly."

Forms

	1st First declension The first declension is a category of mostly feminine nouns in Latin and Ancient Greek with the defining feature of a long ā...	2nd Second declension The second declension is a category of nouns in Latin and Greek with similar case formation. In particular, these nouns are thematic, with an original o in most of their forms. In Classical Latin the short o of the nominative and accusative singular became u.Both Latin and Greek have two basic...	3rd Third declension The third declension is a category of nouns in Latin and Greek with broadly similar case formation — diverse stems, but similar endings. In contrast with the first- and second-declension endings, those of the third declension lack a theme vowel and so are called athematic.One distinguishing...	4th	5th
Singular Grammatical number In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....	-ā	-ō	-e / -ī	-ū	-ē
Plural Plural In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...	-īs (-ābus)	-īs (-ōbus)	-ibus	-ibus	-ēbus

Ablative proper

Some uses of the ablative descend from the Proto-Indo-European

Proto-Indo-European language

The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...

 ablative case.

Ablative of place

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"; ex/ē, "out of"; or dē, "down from". E.g. ex agrīs, "from the fields"; ex Graeciā ad Italiam navigāvērunt, "They sailed from Greece to Italy."

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."

Ablative of separation

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."

Ablative absolute

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.

Ablative of personal agent

• agent by whom the action of a passive verb is performed. The agent is always preceded by ab/ā/abs. E.g. Caesar ā deīs admonētur, "Caesar is warned by the gods." This is known as the ablative of personal agent.

Instrumental ablative

Some uses of the ablative descend from the Proto-Indo-European

Proto-Indo-European language

The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...

 instrumental case

Instrumental case

The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...

.

Ablative of instrument

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

Instrumental case

The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...

 found in some other languages. Special deponent verb

Deponent verb

In linguistics, a deponent verb is a verb that is active in meaning but takes its form from a different voice, most commonly the middle or passive. A deponent verb doesn't have active forms; it can be said to have deposited them .-Greek:...

s 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."

Ablative of manner

The manner in which an action was carried out. The preposition cum (meaning "with") is used when (i) no adjective describes the noun E.g. cum cūrā, "with care," or (ii) optionally after the adjective(s) and before the noun E.g. magnā (cum) celeritāte, "with great speed." This is known as the ablative of manner.

Ablative of attendant circumstances

Of kindred nature to this is the ablative of attendant circumstances "magno cum clamore civium ad urbem perveniunt" ("they reach the city to the great clamours of the populace")

Ablative of accompaniment

With whom something was done. Nouns in this construction are always accompanied by the preposition cum. E.g. cum eīs, "with them"; Cum amīcīs vēnērunt, "They came with friends." This is known as the ablative of accompaniment.

Ablative of agent

This can, however, be more generalized when the agent is an inanimate object. In this case, the preposition ab/ā/abs is not used. E.g. rex a militibus interfectus est "the king was killed by the soldiers" with personal agents, but impersonally it reads rex armis militum interfectus erat "the king was killed by the weapons of the soldiers." This is known as simply the ablative of agent, and also as the ablative of means or instrument.

Locative ablative

Some meanings of the ablative descend from the Proto-Indo-European locative case

Locative case

Locative is a grammatical case which indicates a location. It corresponds vaguely to the English prepositions "in", "on", "at", and "by"...

.

Ablative of time

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.

Other ablatives

Other known uses of the ablative include the ablatives of cause, of comparison, of degree of difference, of description, of place where, and of specification. Important: Not all ablatives can be categorized into the classes mentioned above!

Prepositions

Some Latin prepositions, like pro, take a noun in the ablative. A few prepositions may take either an accusative

Accusative case

The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...

or an ablative, in which case the accusative indicates motion towards, and the ablative indicates no motion. E.g. in casā, "in the cottage"; in casam, "into the cottage".