Questions tagged [preposition]
For questions concerning prepositions, such as *ab, coram, cum, dē, ex, in,* &c.
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"redire ad" or "redire in"
In LLPSI, one can read:
Medus, qui Graecus est, in patriam suam redire vult.
I would have expected
Medus, qui Graecus est, ad patriam suam redire vult.
Indeed Cicero uses "redire ad se atque ...
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1
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Which senses does ob have in the following words?
Oxford Latin Dictionary says that prep. ob has the following senses:
ob prep.
In the direction of, towards.
In front of or in the way of (so as to block).
a. (giving the grounds for an attitude,...
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1
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What are the antonyms of ob and prae?
I learned that the antonym of ante is post, both of which were born dual to each other.
If I understand correctly, ob and prae mean the same or related to ante. What are their antonyms? post isn't ...
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Odyssey A.65: how is περὶ used in περὶ νόον ἐστὶ βροτῶν, περὶ δ᾿ ἱρὰ θεοῖσιν // ἀθανάτοισιν ἔδωκε?
The use of περὶ in verse 65 of Odyssey A is not entirely clear to me, neither in syntax nor in meaning:
πῶς ἂν ἔπειτ᾿ Ὀδυσῆος ἐγὼ θείοιο λαθοίμην,
ὃς περὶ μὲν νόον ἐστὶ βροτῶν, περὶ δ᾿ ἱρὰ θεοῖσιν
...
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6
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3
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348
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Are the following "prep. + accusative"'s used for location?
Keller's Learn to Read Latin says:
Prepositions that take the accusative emphasize the idea of motion
toward, into, around, and through.
Prepositions that take the ablative indicate one of the three
...
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With prōdesse, how would I specify what role the subject is useful in?
As someone many years out of practice with Latin I most struggle with assigning objects in the correct cases or with the correct prepositions for my chosen verbs — something most sources aren't all ...
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What is the latin preposition for "Upon"?
as in the phrase "you want to Call upon my skill". There seem to be lots of prepositions that translate as "on" (which upon is a more formal and abstract form of), but I'm not sure ...
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0
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What are classical examples where prepositional ad phrase is inside ad purpose clause
This question is triggered by another question about wheatear the "ad" is prepositional or purpose.
In theory, we should see examples where something like this happens:
Discipuli Marcum ad ...
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8
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1
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Nested prepositional phrases
I'm trying to learn me some Latin recently, using Euler's works as my training material, since some of them already have English translations, so I can compare my attempts with theirs, and use them as ...
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Why do so many Latin prepositions of place take the accusative and not the ablative to express location?
When talking about the locative case, Latin grammars generally say that its usage was mostly taken over by the ablative case in Latin. For example: Allen and Greenough say:
Relations of Place are ...
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0
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Preposition preceding a verb [duplicate]
i came across this sentence in Orberg's book:
"Quid inest in saccis?"
Or
"Ecce iulius ad villam advenit."
My question is that why there are aditional prepositions, namely another &...
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in terra pax “in“ hominibus bonae voluntatis
Does the occurrence of “in” before “hominibus”, which seems to be found in some but not all renderings of this verse, follow usual Latin usage? A plain dative seems like it would work to me (pax ...
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3
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1
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Is ἐν changing to ἐμ or ἐγ only a thing in Attic?
I've seen in various places (example) the statement that prepositions like ἐν, συν, and ἐκ change forms before certain consonants, so we would have ἐμ before βμπφψ, and ἐγ before γκξχ. But looking ...
user3597
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Why is that which is spoken of expressed as in + ablative?
Vīta est spīrandī mūnere fruī, mors prīvārī. Hoc autem spīrandī mūnus apud plērōsque in bonīs dicitur.
Livet er å nyte Guds* åndingsgave; døden å berøves [den]. Denne pustingas gave anses dermed i de ...
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translate motto into Latin
How would you translate this motto into Latin: “near side or off side, but always centered”.
This refers to the side a lady rides on her horse in a side saddle: near side is with both legs on the left ...
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Are prepositions really never used with cities?
We're taught that the names of cities and small islands do not use prepositions for being in, going into, or leaving these places:
It's not in Roma but Romae.
It's not in Romam but Romam.
It's not e/...
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6
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1
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Can ‘per’ occur with accusative gerundium?
In my grammar (Samson Eitrem: Latinsk grammatikk, 3rd edition, by Bjørg Tosterud and Egil Kraggerud, Aschehoug, 1996), under § 146 Gerundium, he states that:
Akkusativ brukes etter preposisjonene ad ...
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The idea of In versus On in Latin
The Latin word "in" is conventionally given in vocabularies as meaning "in or on" but it seems mean more like "associated with" because it mean attached to or bunch of ...
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How would you translate the title "A Song of Ice and Fire" into Classical Latin?
I've seen "Carmen Glaciei Ignisque", but I have some doubt with the use of genitive here.
Can someone help me find examples from classical works that support the use of genitive?
Or find an ...
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Can intus be the object of a preposition?
In the following sentence from Wisdom 17:12, intus appears to be used as the object of a preposition:
dum ab intus minor est exspectatio, maiorem computat inscientiam eius
causae, quae tormentum ...
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4
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1
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"From her hands, to life" in Latin
I want to gift someone who is a nurse something with an engraving. I thought about the phrase "from her hands, into life", but in Latin.
Based on what I remember from school, my idea is:
E ...
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2
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How do I best translate "A big window into history"?
As I've only recently begun to study Latin, I'm not yet sure how to best translate "A big window into history".
First of all, I'm not sure whether the adjective should precede, or rather ...
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1
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The difference between "ante" and "antequam"
Not sure I can discern the crux of the difference between antequam and ante (According to L&S (II.B.1.a vs II.B.2), ante might be used with verbs, like antequam). In other words, in what occasions ...
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Preposition of agent
Is it better to say a lectica portatur or in lectica portatur if it's the lectīcā who is the agent?
Gratias plurimas.
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1
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Redundancy of “quo” with “de”
Passage: “Quo de genere mortis difficile dictu est.” Cic. Amic. 12
English translation (from Loeb): “It is hard to speak of the nature of his death.”
French translation : “Quant à la nature de sa ...
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Semantic difference of ablative and accusative cases when following "in"
What is the semantic and conceptual difference of ablative and accusative cases when following in?
Examples:
In dubio pro reo & opinio iuris uniformis et in longo usu
Dubio and longo are in ...
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0
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Where does au-fugiō come from?
Hittite has a verbal prefix u- that indicates motion away from something. Kloekhorst connects it to Latin au-fugiō, "to flee from", saying they both come from PIE *h₂-u-.
However, I'd always thought ...
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On different expressions of partitivity in Latin
I was wondering whether there is any difference between the following partitive expressions in Latin: ūnus tribūnōrum and ūnus ex tribūnīs 'one of the tribunes' (cf. the so-called 'partitive genitive' ...
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2
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1
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Declination of "potentia" with preposition "in"
In philosophy, e.g. in Spinoza, there is the Latin word "potentia" that is often translated as a power, or capacity, to act (potentia agendi) and to suffer actions.
I am wondering what is the right ...
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0
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How did the preposition "de" evolve into meaning "from"?
I see that in reconstructed PIE "de" or "do" has a meaning of "towards" which is retained in Germanic "to" and Slavic "do". But in Latin "de" has a meaning of "from". Is that simply due it taking the ...
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1
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Appropinquare: difference in the meaning according to the case?
Is there a difference in the meaning, between "appropinquare" + dative,
and "appropinquare" + ad + accusative?
Dictionaries are not very clear about it.
https://outils.biblissima.fr/fr/collatinus-...
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Is it possible to use a prepositional phrase with a gerundive/gerund?
can we use prepositional phrases (like "de domo") linked to a gerund or
a gerundive, can it act as an object?
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Coming from physically or originate from a place? (Ab Gallia venio)
With "Ab Gallia venio. or "De Gallia venio". (Or other sentences of the same kind)
Could it mean both, I come from this place, or I am originated from this place (like a nationality, or the origin of ...
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2
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Is "ante a priori" correct?
As I understand it, "a posteriori" means "from the latter," and "a priori" means "from the former."
Suppose there was something predating the former in the context above. How would that be expressed ...
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"Venire ad" or "Venire in"?
When can I use "venire ad", or "venire in". (excepting the few locative cases)
What kind of buildings, place, etc, can accept the one or the other?
Is "venire ad" insists more on the move than "in"?
...
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In memoriam: why not "in memoria"?
Consider this usual example of Latin+English:
As Wiktionary states, in memoriam literally means "into memory" (memoriam is in accusative case). However, as Wiktionary (above) and Wikipedia state, the ...
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Why is it to say 'paucis post diebus'?
In my Oxford Latin Course 2 chapter 21 there is a sentence 'paucis post diebus ubi Orbilius pueros dimisit'. Why is it not 'paucos post dies'? I remember that the preposition 'post' + accusative, ...
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nuance of difference in etymology of "intend" and "attend"
I am trying to tease out the etymological difference between "intend" and "attend." Both "in" or "en" as a Latin prefix and "ad" translate as "toward". So the etymological sense of both words is "to ...
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Why is "mecum" backwards?
Cum is a common preposition meaning "with" (as in "accompanying", not "using"). For example, if Caesar returned to Rome with his soldiers, that would be cum militibus suis. As a preposition, it comes ...
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"Oro Dominum" vel "Oro ad Dominum"?
Considerate Vulgatam. Exempli gratia, hi versiculi utuntur "ad" prepositione:
Numeri 11:2:
Cumque clamasset populus ad Moysen, oravit Moyses ad Dominum, et absorptus est ignis
4 Regnum 4:33
...
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How do postpositions fit into Latin syntax?
In a comment on this answer, luchonacho comments that tenus is a preposition taking the genitive; this seemed odd to me, since I'd never considered tenus anything akin to a preposition.
Tenus seems ...
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When to omit a preposition?
Consider 2 Kings, 16:1 in the Vulgate (2 Samuel in modern bibles):
Cumque David transisset paululum montis verticem, apparuit Siba puer Miphiboseth in occursum ejus, cum duobus asinis, qui onerati ...
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Why would the praeposition "per" ever take an ablative instead of an accusative complement?
PER + ABL.: Barbarism, solœcism, or diachronic evolution?
Lewis and Short clearly state that per is a praeposition whose
normal complement is in the accusative. Without having dol...
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1
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Can cases be replaced with prepositions + nominative?
Consider the word domus. Standard cases are domi, domo, domum, domo, domis.
I wonder whether we could replace the above (and perhaps every single noun), with the "equivalent" preposition + nominative....
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How do extra and ultra compare?
The adverbs (and prepositions) extra and ultra are somewhat similar but not identical.
While I can read the two dictionary entries and get an idea what they mean, I don't feel that I fully grasp how ...
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I'm really having trouble with "but" (as in "except") in this phrase
I'm trying to say "No one but [i.e. except] love provokes me with impunity." where love is a metonymic stand-in for the person I love. I hope it makes sense. (You can read it as a personification if ...
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How is time period expressed in Latin?
How is time period expressed in Latin, e.g. "from Jan 1 to Mar 31"?
I notice there are two prepositions meaning "from", "ab" and "ex". What's their difference? Which should I use for time period?
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Ne ... quidem with preposition
What would be the translation of: He does not play even with his brother?
Could it be: Ne cum fratre suo quidem ludit?
Normally I have seen the structure ne ... quidem with a noun in the nominative ...
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Is the phrase 'Nec mea dona tibi studio disperta fideli' incorrect?
What is the difference between
Ne mea dona tibi studio disperta fideli
and
Nec mea dona tibi studio disperta fideli
and is the latter version, which differs in the single letter 'c' only, ...
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How do you show something from a window?
Suppose, for example, that a child is watching his dad come home from work.
She can't wait any longer to show what she's got, so she goes to the window and shows her new teddy bear to her dad.
How can ...
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