Lesson 30 · Review
Twelve words for a hard campaign: the weary are wounded, they lack food and wine, and they are kept from the province they approach.
With adpropinquō the idea of nearness to outweighs that of motion to, so the verb governs the dative — castrīs adpropinquat, he draws near to the camp. Were motion the stronger idea, Latin would say ad with the accusative.
A synopsis runs one verb through its forms in a single person and number — every tense, both voices. Here is the first singular of amō beside regō; note where their futures part ways.
| amō act. | amō pass. | regō act. | regō pass. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | amō | amor | regō | regor |
| Imperfect | amābam | amābar | regēbam | regēbar |
| Future | amābō | amābor | regam | regar |
| Imperative | amā | amāre | rege | regere |
| Infinitive | amāre | amārī | regere | regī |
To give a synopsis, hold the person and number fixed and run through the present, imperfect, and future indicative in both voices, then the imperative and the infinitive. moneō and capiō and audiō follow the same track as the models above.
amō · amābam · amābō — amor · amābar · amābor
Conjugations I and II build the future with -bō / -bor (amābō, amābor; monēbō, monēbor); conjugations III and IV build it with -am / -ar (regam, regar; capiam, capiar; audiam, audiar). A synopsis is the quickest way to keep the two families apart.
amābō / amābor · regam / regar
Synopses should be given not only in the first person but in others as well, particularly the third singular and plural. Try rapiō, mūniō, reperiō, doceō, videō, dīcō, agō, laudō, and portō.
regit · regēbat · reget — regitur · regēbātur · regētur
One of the ablative's three relations answers the English from. It is called the separative ablative, and it follows three rules — place, separation, and the personal agent.
| Preposition | Picture | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ā / ab | away from near a place | ab eō locō — from (near) that place |
| ē / ex | out from within it | ex agrīs — out of the fields |
| dē | down from it | dē locō altō — down from the high place |
The place from which is expressed by the ablative with ā or ab, dē, ē or ex. The three prepositions differ only in the picture they paint: from near, out from, down from.
Agricolae ex agrīs veniunt — the farmers come from the fields
Words expressing separation or deprivation — like absum, discēdō, egeō, prohibeō, līberō — require an ablative to complete their meaning. When the separation is literal, with actual motion, use ā/ab, ē/ex, or dē; when it is figurative, no preposition is needed.
terram ā mōnstrīs līberat (literal) · terram trīstitiā līberat (figurative)
With a passive verb, the person from whom the action starts is put in the ablative with ā or ab — translated by rather than from. Turning an active sentence passive, the object becomes the subject and the old subject becomes ā/ab + ablative.
Perseus mōnstrum necat → Mōnstrum ā Perseō necātur
Both are translated by in English, but the ablative of means — a thing — takes no preposition, while the ablative of the personal agent takes ā/ab. Ask: did a thing do it, or a person?
Fera sagittā necātur (means) · Fera ā Diānā necātur (agent)
Six out of six before you start the exercises.
Question 1
In a synopsis of regō in the first person singular, which form is the future passive, "I shall be ruled"?
Right. The third conjugation builds its future with -am/-ar, not -bō/-bor: active regam, passive regar. regābor mixes the first conjugation's -bor onto a third-conjugation stem — no such form exists.
Not quite — conjugations III and IV never use -bō/-bor for the future. regam is active; the passive swaps final -m for -r.
Question 2
Which preposition pictures motion down from a place?
Right. dē means down from; ā/ab is away from near a place, and ē/ex is out from within it. All three take the ablative of the place from.
Not quite — picture the three motions leading away from a place: from near it, out of it, and down from it. Only one of these goes downward.
Question 3
Perseus terram trīstitiā līberat, "Perseus frees the land from sorrow." Why does trīstitiā take no preposition?
Right. When no material thing actually moves away from another, the ablative of separation stands alone. Contrast the literal terram ā mōnstrīs līberat, where real motion earns the preposition ā.
Not quite — gender is irrelevant, and līberō does take a preposition when the separation is literal (ā mōnstrīs). What is different about freeing a land from sorrow?
Question 4
In Mōnstrum ā Perseō necātur, "the monster is being slain by Perseus," what is ā Perseō?
Right. Perseus is the person from whom the passive action starts, so he stands in the ablative with ā — the ablative of the personal agent, translated "by Perseus." Means would be a thing, and it would take no preposition.
Not quite — Perseus is a person performing the action of a passive verb, not a thing and not a location.
Question 5
Fera sagittā necātur, "the wild beast is killed by an arrow." Why is there no ā/ab before sagittā?
Right. Means is a thing and stands in the bare ablative; the agent is a person and takes ā/ab. Compare Fera ā Diānā necātur — Diana, a person, needs the preposition.
Not quite — the preposition is not optional: it is required for a personal agent and forbidden for means. Is an arrow a person or a thing?
Question 6
Which of these verbs governs the dative, because the idea of nearness to is stronger than that of motion to?
Right. adpropinquō ("draw near to") takes the dative — castrīs adpropinquābant, they were nearing the camp. discēdō and egeō point the other way: both take the separative ablative.
Not quite — discēdō (depart from) and egeō (be without) are verbs of separation and take the ablative. Which verb moves toward something?
Answered correctly: 0 / 6