Ablative case

In linguistics, ablative case (also called the sixth case) (abbreviated ABL) is a name given to cases in various languages whose common thread is that they mark motion away from something, though the details in each language may differ. The name "ablative" is derived from a Latin verb meaning "to carry away".

Indo-European languages

Latin

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Singular	-ā	-ō	-e/-ī	-ū	-ē
Plural	-īs	-īs	-ibus	-ibus	-ēbus

The Latin ablative case (ablativus) has at least fifteen documented uses. Generalizing their function, however, ablatives modify or limit verbs by ideas of where (place), when (time), how (manner), etc. Hence, the case is sometimes also called the adverbial case; this can be quite literal, as phrases in ablative can be translated as adverbs. E.g. magnā (cum) celeritāte, literally "with great speed," may also be written "very quickly."

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

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."

The Latin ablative may also be used to indicate:

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 found in some other languages. Special deponent verbs 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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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

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!

Some Latin prepositions, like pro, take a noun in the ablative. A few prepositions may take either an accusative 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".Wheelock, Frederic M. Wheelock's Latin, HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 0060783710

Uralic languages

Finnish

In Finnish, the ablative case is the sixth of the locative cases with the meaning "from off of", e.g. pöytä — pöydältä "table — off from the table". It is an outer locative case, used just as the adessive and allative cases to denote both being on top of something and "being around the place" (as opposed to the inner locative case, the elative, which means "from out of" or "from the inside of").

The Finnish ablative is also used in Time Expressions to indicate start times as well as with verbs expressing feelings or emotions.

The Finnish ablative has the ending -lta or -ltä according to the regular rules of vocal harmony.

Usage

away from a place

Katolta

Off of the roof

Pöydältä

Off of the table

Rannalta

From the beach

Maalta

From the land

Mereltä

Off the sea

to stop some activity with the verb lähteä

lähteä kalalta

quit fishing (literally Quit the fish)

lähteä maidolta

stop drinking milk

lähteä tupakalta

stop smoking (in the sense of putting out the cigarette one is smoking now; literally Quit the tobacco)

lähteä hippasilta

quit the tag game (hippa=tag, olla hippasilla=playing tag)

External links

What is ablative case?