18.05.25: Level 3; the locative case (2); other nouns with the locative case

Image: A small number of nouns which do not fall under the category of towns, cities and small islands also have a locative case. Apart from rūs [3/n] the locative case is the same as the genitive singular.

humus, -ī [2/f]: ground; earth; soil  > Locative: humī  (on the ground)     

mīlitia, -ae [1/f]: military service > Locative: mīlitiae (on military service)

domus (irregular): house; *domus is an irregular noun in that its declension can comprise 2^nd declension endings, but also 4^th declension endings. However, the locative case is the same as the genitive case when 2^nd declension endings are used i.e. domī (at home)

bellum, -ī [2/n]: war > Locative: bellī (at war) 

rūs, rūris [3/n]: countryside > Locative: rūrī (in the countryside) 

bellī domīque │ in war and (in) peace (at home)

Aurīga humī iacet. │ The charioteer is lying on the ground.

Flāviae pater magnam vīllam rūrī habet. │ Flavia’s father has a large house in the countryside.

tum porrō puer, ut saevīs prōiectus ab undīs nāvita, nūdus humī iacet īnfāns (Lucretius) │ Then further the child, just like a sailor cast forth by savage waves, lies naked and speechless on the ground

Scelestissimē, audēs mihi praedicāre id, domī tē esse nunc, quī hīc ades? (Plautus) │ You consummate villain, do you dare tell me this, that you are now at home, who are here present?

Quīn rūrī es in praefectūrā tuā? (Plautus) │But why aren't you in the country, at your post of command?

Mam. Aemilium, prīncipem aetātis suae bellī domīque, aerārium fēcērunt (Livy) │ They reduced Mamercus Aemilius, the foremost man of his time in war and peace (at home), to the lowest class of citizens

Latin tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwLS-fh3pVg

18.05.25: Level 3; the locative case; place names (3)

[iv] Greek city-states

[10] Syrācūsae: Syracuse is an historic city on the island of Sicily noted both for its rich Greek and Roman history, culture and architecture, and as the birthplace of the mathematician and engineer Archimedes. Founded by Ancient Greek settlers, it became a powerful city-state, allied with Sparta and Corinth, and during Roman Rule it was capital of the province of Sicily. The term Magna Graecia was used to refer to the Greek-speaking coastal areas of Southern Italy. Later writers also included Sicily.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syracuse,_Sicily

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Graecia

[11] Athēnae: One of the world’s oldest cities, Athens was a powerful city-state and a centre for the arts and learning. It is considered the birthplace of democracy and had considerable cultural and political impact on Ancient Rome.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens

[12] Corinthus: Corinth was an ancient city-state and developed as a commercial centre. In 146 BC, the city was destroyed by the Roman army. In 44 BC, as a newly rebuilt Roman colony it became the administrative capital of the Roman province of Achaea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinth

[v] Byzantium

[13] Bȳzantium (present-day Istanbul) [Anc. Gk. Βυζάντιον (Būzắntĭon)] was an Ancient Greek city which adopted the name of Kōnstantinoupolis [Anc. Gk. Κωνσταντινούπολις; Latin: Cōnstantīnopolis; Eng. Constantinople ‘the city of Constantine’] after its foundation under Roman emperor Constantine I, who transferred the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium in 330AD.

The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces in late antiquity and the Middle Ages surviving the fragmentation and collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It continued to exist for a further 1,000 years until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantium

[vi] Egypt

Egypt (Aegyptus) was a province of the Roman Empire from 30BC until 641AD. After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, the Ptolemaic Kingdom which had ruled Egypt since the Wars of Alexander the Great took the side of Mark Antony against the eventual victor Octavian, who as Augustus became the first Roman emperor in 27 BC, having defeated Mark Antony and the pharaoh, Cleopatra VII, at the naval Battle of Actium. After the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra, the Roman Republic annexed the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt.

[14] Alexandrēa (Alexandria): Mediterranean port city in Egypt founded by Alexander the Great; it was home to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and to the Library of Alexandria.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria

[15] Thēbae (Thebes): Ancient Egyptian city about 800km south of the Mediterranean, the ruins within the modern city of Luxor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thebes,_Egypt

18.05.25; Level 3; the locative case; place names (2)

[iii] wars and battles

[6] Cannae (now Canne della Battaglia) was a village in south east Italy and famous for being the site of the disastrous defeat of the Romans by Hannibal during the Second Punic War in 216BC. An estimated 60,000–70,000 Romans were killed or captured at Cannae.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cannae

[7] Carthāgō (Carthage) was the capital of the Carthaginian civilisation in what is modern-day Tunisia. A major trading hub and one of the wealthiest cities in the classical world, it was destroyed by the Roman Republic in the Third Punic War in 146BC. Subsequently re-developed as Roman Carthage it became the major city in the Roman province of Africa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthage

[8] Philippī [Gk: Φίλιπποι, Philippoi] was a major Greek city; it was here during the Civil War that Octavian and Mark Anthony, heirs of Julius Caesar,  faced the forces of Brutus and Cassius, Caesar’s assassins. The battle was fought on a plain near the city in 42BC, resulting in the defeat of Brutus and Cassius

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippi

[9] Troia (Troy): ancient city in present-day Turkey in habited since the 4^th millennium BC and the location of the Trojan War

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_War

site of the battle of Cannae

the ruins at Carthage

the Forum at Philippi

Troy

15.05.25: Level 3; the locative case; place names (1)

A number of places in the ancient world were referred to in the previous post. Here is a little more information about some of them; these are very short summaries but I have included links if you would like to know more about these places and / or the events associated with them.

[i] Roman Britain

[1] Londinium, capital of Britannia during most of the period of Roman rule, was a settlement on the current site of the City of London c. AD 47–50 and sat at a key crossing point over the River Thames turning the city into a road nexus and major port which served as a chief commercial centre until its abandonment during the 5th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Londinium

[2] Eborācum was a fort and later a city in the Roman province of Britannia. It was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. After the decline of the Western Roman Empire it developed into the present-day city York.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eboracum 

artist’s impression of Londinium

the Roman baths at Eborācum (York)

[ii] disaster

[3] The dark shadow in the image shows extent of the destruction inflicted by Mt Vesuvius upon its eruption in AD79. Although Pompeiī is by far the largest and most famous location, other coastal resorts were destroyed including Herculāneum, Stabiae and Oplontis.

aerial view of Pompeii 

excavations at Herculaneum

wall painting from Stabiae

Villa Poppeae at Oplontis

[4] Mīsēnum was a major port on the Bay of Naples, and in AD79 – at the time of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius - Pliny the Elder was in charge of the naval fleet there. His nephew, Pliny the Younger, also at Misenum, gave us the only surviving account of the catastrophe during which his uncle was killed.

Modern Capo Miseno on the site of Misenum

[5] 16km from Mt Vesuvius, and about 4.5km to the southwest of Pompeii, the resort of Stabiae was buried under ash to a height of up to 5m. Near the city on a 50m high headland above the Bay of Naples is the largest group of well-preserved, huge and high-class Roman villas found from the entire Roman world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herculaneum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabiae

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oplontis

15.05.25: Level 3; the locative case (1)

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/02/120525-level-3-summary-of-of-uses-of.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/747916037819667

As you saw in the previous post:  [Level 3;  summary of of the uses of the ablative case [3]: prepositions (2)] Latin normally indicates location by using in with the ablative case, for example:

in Ītaliā │ in Italy

in macellō │ in the market

However, with the names of towns and cities, small islands and a few other isolated nouns, the locative case is used. This case existed in Old Latin but was eventually absorbed by the ablative and therefore is not generally listed as a separate case except when there are nouns which have a distinct locative ending. Like the ablative, it denotes ‘in’ or ‘at’ a place, but no preposition is used.

Image #1: The locative endings for 1^st and 2^nd declension singular nouns are the same as the genitive singular.

Image #2: A few town / city names in Latin are plural e.g. Athēnae (Athens), Pompeiī (Pompeii); these names which are first and second declension have a locative case which is the same as the ablative plural:

Image #3: Further examples with the English equivalents:

Pliny the Younger, who provides us with the only written account of the eruption of Vesuvius particularly with reference to his uncle, Pliny the Elder, who died in the eruption, begins the main part of the narrative with:

Erat Mīsēnī classemque imperiō praesēns regēbat. ¦ He was at Misenum and was personally commanding the fleet. [Nominative: Mīsēnum (now: Miseno) > Locative: Mīsēnī]

Image #4: Third declension nouns have a locative case which is the same as the ablative or sometimes the dative.

The definition “small islands” is rather vague and Roman authors are not always consistent in interpreting an island as such hence there are variations where a writer may use a locative case or an ablative; it isn’t something you should lose sleep over (or machete your way through example from literature trying to find exceptions). A rule of thumb is that if the island is small enough to have upon it only one town i.e. one major population centre and / or the island shares the name of the town, then it conforms to the rule that the locative case is used with ‘cities, towns and small islands.’ The island of Rhodes, for example, had several population centres although the city, which had been the capital from c. 408 BC, and the island shared the same name.

Caesar paucōs diēs in Asiā morātus, cum audīsset Pompēium Cyprī vīsum (Caesar) │ Having delayed for a few days in Asia, Caesar, when he had heard that Pompey had been seen in Cyprus …

Samia mihi māter fuit: ea habitābat Rhodī (Terence) │ Samia was my mother: she used to live on Rhodes.

ante paucōs quam obīret diēs, turris Pharī terrae mōtū Capreīs concidit (Suetonius)│ a few days before he died, the Pharos at Capri was thrown down by an earthquake. 

Islands which had several populations centres e.g. Sicily were not classified as small and, therefore, in + ablative was used to express location.

Gāius Syrācūsīs [locative of the town name] ¦ in Siciliā habitat. │ Gaius lives at Syracuse ¦ on Sicily.

Exercise: Complete the sentences by putting the noun in brackets into the locative case.

1. Puerī (Rōma) manent. │ The boys are staying in Rome.
2. Magnum bellum (Troia) erat. │ There was a great war at Troy.
3. Mortuus est (Londīnium). │ He died in London.
4. Domus poētae est (Athēnae). │The poet’s house is in Athens.
5. Ferōciter (Cannae) pugnātum est. │A fierce battle was fought at Cannae.
6. (Syrācūsae) nātus est. │He was born at Syracuse.
7. (Carthāgō) habitat. │ He lives at Carthage.
8. Quid facis in urbe (Cōnstantīnopolis)? │ What are you doing in the city of Constantinople? 

30.09.24: follow-up; Saeptum Nationale Big Bend; transcript; part [3]; locative case

Referring to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8qNo3Kkro4

https://www.facebook.com/.../permalink/528987953045811/

Terlinguae

3:41: Hoc oppidulum Terlingua nōminātur

3:45: Hic locus aptissimus est peregrīnīs │ [i] aptus, -a, -um: suitable > aptissimus, -a, -um: very / most suitable [ii] peregrīnus, -ī [2/m]: (here) hiker > Hic locus aptissimus est peregrīnīs [dative]: this place is very suitable for hikers [or: most suited to hikers]

3:48: quod prope montēs situs est

3:50: Post ascēnsiōnem, fessī sumus et ēsurīmus

3:58: Pernoctābimus hīc

4:01: Bonum māne

4:02: Terlinguae adsumus│ [see note]*

4:05: Tandem dormīvī bene

4:09: Hodiē domum redīmus

4:37: Plūrimās grātiās agō

4:39: Sī tibi placuit pellicula,

4:42: Subscrībe canālī, amābō tē

4:45: In proximum!

[A] Give the video timings when Vincent refers to:

1. Feeling hungry

2. Being near the mountains

3. Going back home

4. Having slept well

5. Liking the film

6. Where they will spend the night

[B] Find the Latin:

1. finally

2. if you liked (the film)

3. is called

4. please

5. See you next time!

6. today

____________________

*Note:

4:02: Terlinguae adsumus │ We are in Terlingua

Vincent is using the locative case; Terlingua is the name of a town and, in Latin, when you are in a specific named town / city, the preposition in + ablative is not used:

In oppidulō sum │I am in a little town (but the town isn’t named)

Oppidulum Terlingua vocātur │ The little town is called Terlingua

Terlinguae adsumus │We are in Terlingua (no preposition)

A post was published some time back on this topic:

https://www.facebook.com/.../permalink/415064654438142/

The locative case is not an additional case that has to be studied in depth; its use is confined to the names of towns, cities and small islands, and to a handful of other nouns

1st declension nouns:

• Rōma > Rōmae │ in Rome (no preposition)

2nd declension nouns:

• Brundisium > Brundisiī │ in Brundisium

3rd declension nouns:

• Carthāgō > Carthāgine / Carthāginī │ in Carthage

Some Latin town names are plural:

1st declension

• Athēnae > Athēnīs: in Athens

2nd declension

• Pompeiī > Pompeiīs: in Pompeii

The nouns you will come across which have a locative case are:

• domus (house) > domī: at home
• rūs (countryside) > rūrī: in the countryside
• humus (ground) > humī: on the ground

The Latin Tutorial video on the locative case is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwLS-fh3pVg

However, unusually for these videos (because I regularly use them), the presenter tends to ramble a little at the beginning – and he goes on to other points that are not specifically related to what is being discussed here, and so I’ve uploaded an edited version.

29.03.24: the locative case

Some features of Latin grammar are far more important than others. This one is fairly minor, but still needs to be recognised and known.

When young learners are becoming familiar with, for example, plurals, they will normally start with friend(s), house(s), pen(s) and so on. Then, as youngsters, they will generally and unquestioningly learn man > men (Anglo-Saxon menn), sheep > sheep (Anglo-Saxon: sċēp; singular and plural) child > children (Anglo-Saxon ċildru ) i.e. these nouns come from a different declension pattern in Old English and have retained their plural forms. A five-year-old, however, isn’t that concerned about why ‘child’ becomes ‘children’, but you may be curious about why he said Hustoniae habitō in the video.

Hustoniae habitō: I live in Houston

When we say in a place or on a place in Latin, we use in + ablative:

In argentāriā labōrō. I work in a bank.

Liber meus in mēnsā est. My book is on the table.

Mārcus in hortō sedet. Marcus is sitting in the garden.

However, the form being used in the video is the locative case. This case did exist in Latin but finally merged with the ablative although, in some instances, an old locative case ending still appears. If you look up the tables of nouns in, for example, wiktionary, no locative form will be listed unless the noun in question has one.

[i] There is a handful of nouns that have a locative; the examples that are most common and most quoted in grammar books are listed below, and one of them you have already seen. No preposition is used; the case ending alone conveys the idea of being at / in / on a place.

domus: house > domī: at home e.g. Mārcus domī est. Marcus is at home.

humus: ground > humī: on the ground e.g. Humī sedent. They’re sitting on the ground.

bellum: war > bellī: in battle

Valēte, iūdicēs iūstissimī, domī, bellīque, duellātōrēs optimī (Plautus) ¦ Fare ye well, at home, most upright judges, and in warfare most valiant combatants.

rūs: countryside > rūrī: in the countryside

In the video he referred to “in nātūrā” (in nature; in the natural world) but, if he’d said that he liked to go for a walk “in the countryside”: Mihi perplacet rūrī dēambulāre” i.e. rūrī has its own locative ending to express the idea.

[ii] The locative is used with the names of “cities, towns and small islands”; that’s the standard answer! With cities and towns, it’s clear:

Rōma: Rome > Rōmae [the ending is the same as the genitive singular]: in Rome; you don’t say *in Rōmā*

Lutetia: Paris > Lutetiae: in Paris

Hustonia (New Latin): Houston > Hustoniae: in Houston

Corinthus: Corinth [the ending is the same as the genitive singular] > Corinthī: in Corinth

Londinium: London > Londiniī: in London

Eborācum: York > Eborācī: in York

Brundisium: Brundisium (Brindisi) > Brundisiī: in Brundisium

Pliny writes of his uncle:

Erat Mīsēnī classemque imperiō praesēns regēbat. ¦ He was at Misenum and was personally commanding the fleet.

Some place names in Latin are plural; their locative forms are the same as the ablative and so the only point you have to remember is that they don’t use prepositions

Athēnae: Athens > Athēnīs: in Athens e.g. Athēnīs nātus est. He was born in Athens.

Pompeiī: Pompeii > Pompeiīs: in Pompeii

There’s a bit more – only a bit – that needs to be talked about with regard to these, but I think that’s enough for the moment to explain why he said Hustoniae habitō in the video. The key point to remember is that when you say in a named town or city, a locative case with no preposition is used.

** What is written below is more for interest and to show that, when studying Latin, there will be points which are not absolutely clear or consistent. They’re not of crucial importance. **

How do you define a small island? It’s a neat phrase to remember that the locative is used with the names of “towns, cities and small islands”, it trips off the tongue and it trips off the page of every grammar book you pick up, most of those books tending to avoid further discussion on the matter. And when writers on Latin are avoiding discussion, that suggests not all is quite what it seems!

It’s a small point but it’s a good example of looking at the language in slightly greater depth and using the authors for reference.

Does English distinguish between large and small islands in the way that the Romans did? Britain is an island and so is Ireland, and we would say in Britain (La. in Britanniā) and in Ireland (La. in Hiberniā) i.e. large land masses with very many settlements, but when the island gets smaller – sometimes with one or very few settlements - there can be a “shift” to on e.g. on Anglesey, on Sark, on the Isle of Wight. Not every English speaker makes that shift, but at this point Latin would step in with the locative case.

Crēta: Crete > Loc. Crētae [locative]: on Crete

A large island such as Sicily with several settlements would be “in Siciliā” [ablative]:

Gāius ¦ [i] Syrācūsīs ¦ [ii] in Siciliā ¦ habitat. Gaius lives ¦ [i] in Syracuse ¦ [ii] in Sicily.

[i] Syrācūsae [pl.]: Syracuse > Locative. Syracūsīs: in Syracuse; that’s a place name and it takes a locative, full stop.

[ii] in Siciliā: not considered a small island and so in + ablative is used just like you would say “in” with any other noun

In Cicero and Plautus, however, we find:

“Rhodī [locative] enim” inquit “ego nōn fuī” (Cicero) ¦ “For I,” he says “Was not on Rhodes”

Samia mihi māter fuit: ea habitābat Rhodī [locative]. (Plautus) ¦ Samia was my mother: she lived on Rhodes.

Rhodos: Rhodes > Loc. Rhodī: on Rhodes i.e. considered to be a small island and adheres to the rule.

Caesar paucōs diēs in Asiā morātus cum audīsset Pompēium Cyprī [locative] vīsum (Caesar) ¦ When Caesar, having stayed for a few days in Asia had heard that Pompeius had been seen in Cyprus.

Cyprus > Loc. Cyprī: in / on Cyprus i.e. considered (by Caesar) to be a small island.

However, did the perception of individuals vary, just like our own perceptions vary? Are all the writers consistent in what forms they use? Look at the next quotation where both are used in the same sentence, and note how Caesar wrote Cyprī but Varro writes in Cyprō.

Itaque Crētae [locative] ad Cortȳniam dīcitur platanus esse, quae folia hieme nōn āmittat, itemque in Cyprō ... [in + ablative] (Varro)

Thus near Cortynia, on Crete, there is said to be a plane tree which does not shed its leaves in winter, and another in Cyprus ...