Noun Uses You Should Know

Nominative
• Subject = Sub./ Subj.
• Predicate Nominative (eg. Cicero vir est)
Accusative
• Direct Object = D.O.
• Subject of an Indirect Statement1
• Direct Object of an Indirect statement
• Object of the Preposition = O.P.
• Motion toward a place (Romam = to Rome), for cities, towns, small islands
• Time during which (totam diem = During the whole day)
• Accusative of exclamation (O Hominem Stultum = O what a stupid man!)
Genitive
• Possession
• Place IN which (Romae), for cities, towns, small islands
• (there are more, but seriously, don’t worry about them because “of ” translates 95% of genitives well
enough)
Dative
• Advantage/ Disadvantage. “to <noun>” Dic mihi, mihi aulam abstulit etc. (subcategories below)
◦ Possession2 – Seni Catoni ager est. There is to [dative noun] a [nominative noun].
◦ Ethical – the person whom something affects most, or who has an interest in it.
▪ Quid mihi Mercurium pugnis facit? = Pray tell me, what is Mercury doing with his fists?
• Special Verb – some verbs take a Dative object. The best way to learn them is to memorize a definition that
forces you to use the Dative, even if it sounds a little odd in English.
• Double Dative
◦ Dative of Purpose (what’s it for?) goes with a Dative of Advantage (who’s it for?)
▪ Arma auxilio militibus sunt. “Arms are for help to the soldiers” or “Arms help the soldiers.”
▪ Circenses uoluptati adulescenti sunt. “The circuses provide entertainment for the young man.”
Ablative
• Ablative Absolute = abl. Abs. = After the noun had been verbed, While the noun was verbing.3
• Motion away (Romā = from Rome), for cities, towns, small islands
• Place where for plurals and third declension cities, towns, small islands (Athenis = in Athens, Carthagine =
In Carthage)
• Thing used, AKA means, instrument (if it has a mind, it gets a/ab. If it’s inanimate, no preposition
needed.)
• Ablative with Preposition = Many grammars break these down into further categories. I don’t care.
However, you may want to learn the very short list of prepositions that take the ablative and genitive. All
others take the accusative.
o Prep. + Abl. = In,4 Cum, Ex, Ab, Sub, Sine, De, Pro, Prae, Coram
o Prep. + Gen (conveniently, these take the genitive in English to by using ‘of ’)
▪ Causa (because of)
▪ Gratia (For the sake of)
o Prep. + Acc. = Everything else. Seriously.
1 You had best review Indirect statement (dico canem amabilem esse. = I’m saying THAT the dog IS adorable.) if you don’t remember it
well. This is bar none the most common construction you will see in Latin prose, and it has vanquished centuries of Latin students with its
clever imitation of the supplementary infinitive (eg. Canem habere volo = I want to have a dog.)
2 This is not in Wheelock. This is really common. Start looking for it every time you find a dative.
3 Another very, very common construction that really gives students trouble. Don’t be a statistic.
4 When it means ‘inside’ or ‘on’