30.05.25: Level 3; summary of of the uses of the ablative case [10]: [i] the ablative of time when [ii] the ablative of time within which

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_pOY9MqRZg

Note: not from the same Latin Tutorial videos that have been referred to before; this one looks only at the two ablative usages discussed here.

[i] the ablative of time when: when referring to a specific point or period in time e.g. a clock time, a season, a year, the ablative without a preposition is used:

horā quartā │ at the fourth hour

prīmā lūce │ at dawn

nocte │ at night

hieme │ in winter

annō secundō │ in the second year

eōdem diē │ on the same day

[ii] as the term would suggest, the ablative of time within which indicates the period during which an action take place

tribus proximīs annīs │ within the next three years

paucīs hōrīs │ within a few hours

Diēbus vīgintī quīnque aggerem exstrūxērunt. (Caesar) │ Within twenty-five days they finished building a mound.

Cēnābis bene, mī Fabulle, apud mē │  You will dine well, my  Fabullus, at my house

paucīs, sī tibi dī favent, diēbus, │ in a few days, if the gods favour you

Gaius Valerius Catullus

Image #4: expressions of time can be sub-divided into:

[1] Time when: refers to a specific point in time e.g. They set sail on the same day (eōdem diē).

[2] Time within which: the period of time taken to complete an action e.g. They will have reached the island within three days (tribus diēbus).

[1] and [2] have been discussed above. Both use the ablative case.

[3] Duration of time: for how long an action takes place; this is expressed in Latin by the accusative case:

Graecī Troiam multōs annōs oppugnāvērunt. │ The Greeks attacked Troy for many years.

Compare:

Quīnque hōrīs [ablative of time within which] ad urbem vēnērunt. │ They came to the city within five hours. 

Quattuor annōs [accusative of duration] in illā urbe labōrāvit. │ He worked in that city for five years.