Laeca Poēta II
Aqua Laecam maximē
dēlectat; itaque poēta saepe nāvigat. Poēta ab Ītaliae ōrīs ad proximam
īnsulam libenter nāvigat. Multae īnsulae sunt Ītaliae proximae. Nāvicula ad
terrās extrēmās nōn nāvigat quod nāvicula nōn est firma. Nāvicula, igitur, ad
Graeciam et ad Asiam nōn nāvigat. Hodiē poēta in vīllam ambulat et Iūliam vocat. Tum poēta cum Iūliā ad
ōram properat. Poēta et fīlia ad īnsulam magnam nāvigant. In
magnā īnsulā nauta habitat. Tandem nāvicula ad ōram īnsulae nāvigat et
Iūlia ē nāviculā in terram properat.
Casa nautae est proxima aquae. Poēta et fīlia ad casam ambulant. Iūlia in
casam properat et nautam salūtat. Posteā
nauta et Iūlia in ōrā ambulant et nauta Iūliae fābulās nārrat.
Onerāriae
Onerāriae sunt
amplae et firmae; ad terrās extrēmās nāvigant. Ab Ītaliā onerāriae ad
Āfricam, ad Graeciam, ad Asiam nāvigant. Onerāriae ūvās et olīvās
ad ōrās Asiae portant. Nautae olīvās et ūvās ex onerāriīs in viās portant. Incolae Asiae nautīs pecūniam dant. Ab
ōrīs Asiae nautae corbulās et pallās ad Ītaliam portant. Ā Graeciā
nautae amphorās et ūrnās portant. Nautae corbulās, pallās, amphorās, ūrnās, in
tabernās Ītalicās portant. Fēminae Italicae in
tabernās libenter properant et spectant.
Fēminae albās pallās et pulchrās amphorās vident; ancillās vocant. Libenter
ancillae properant in tabernās;
ancillīs quoque pallae et amphorae grātae sunt. Postēā fēminae cum ancillīs ex
tabernīs ambulant.
prepositions with the accusative case
[i] in (in; on): this is an example of a
preposition that can be followed by either the ablative (which you saw in the
previous post) or the accusative. In German and Russian, this distinction
exists: Gmn. ‘in der Stadt’ (in town) but ‘in die Stadt’
(to / into town); Russ. ‘v gorode’ (in the town) but ‘v gorod’ (to / into town)
i.e. the distinction between being physically in somewhere as opposed to going
into somewhere. English can make this distinction but it isn’t
consistent: he was in the room; he went in / into the room. In Latin when ‘in’
refers to going from one place into or onto another
place, then the accusative is used.
Look at the differences:
In magnā īnsulā [ablative] nauta habitat. The sailor lives
on a large island.
Nauta et Iūlia in ōrā [ablative] ambulant. The sailor and
Julia walk on the shore.
Although the sailor and Julia are walking i.e. there is
movement, the ablative is used to indicate the place where they are
walking, not walking from one place to another. That is
expressed by the accusative:
Hodiē poēta in vīllam [accusative]
ambulat. Today the poet walks into the villa.
Iūlia ē nāviculā in terram properat.
Julia hurries out of the little boat onto the land.
Iūlia in casam properat. Julia
hurries into the cottage.
Nautae olīvās et ūvās ex onerāriīs in viās portant.
The sailors carry the olives and grapes from the merchant ships into the
streets.
Nautae corbulās ... in tabernās Ītalicās portant.
The sailors carry the baskets ... into the Italian shops.
Ancillae properant in tabernās. The
maidservants hurry into the shops.
[ii] ad: if you (dare to) look up ad in,
for example, wiktionary, you will find thirteen separate definitions of the
preposition! You are advised – strongly – not to do that because it is
unnecessary overload. Simply focus on its key meaning of towards something
or someone. Of course, like all the prepositions, there are other meanings but
keep the learning slow and gradual.
Tum poēta cum Iūliā ad ōram properat.
Then the poet hurries with Julia towards the shore.
Poēta … ad proximam īnsulam nāvigat.
The poet sails to(wards) the nearest island. It doesn’t suggest he actually
gets there!
Onerāriae … ad terrās extrēmās nāvigant.
The merchant ships … sail to far-off lands i.e. ad conveys the
direction in which the ships go.
In a sense, ad is the opposite of ā /
ab i.e. from … to …
Ab Italiā [ablative] onerāriae ad Āfricam,
ad Graeciam, ad Asiam nāvigant. The merchant ships sail from Italy to Africa,
to Greece, to Asia.
Ab ōrīs Asiae nautae corbulās et pallās ad Italiam
portant. The merchant ships carry baskets and cloaks from the
shores of Asia to Italy.
[iii] Other prepositions with the accusative case: all,
apart from one trāns you have seen in previous posts:
ante: in front of; before
circum: around
post: behind; after
prope: near
trāns: across
These prepositions, too, can have slightly different
meanings depending upon context, but, again, just focus on the basics.
A huge amount of Latin vocabulary has found its way into
English:
postgraduate
And you most likely use post and ante every
day depending on whether you’re talking at:
7 a.m. (ante meridiem = before midday)
or 7 p.m. (post meridiem = after midday)
circumference; circumnavigate (and you
can see how that word has been put together: circum (around) + nāvigāre: to
sail)
transport; transfer; translate,
all with the basic notion of carrying something across to
somewhere else
Exercise [1]
- Quō nāvicula poētae nāvigat? *Quō = (to) where?
- Cui multae īnsulae sunt proximae?
- Cūr nāvicula ad terrās extrēmās nōn nāvigat?
- Num nāvicula ad Graeciam nāvigat?
- Quō poēta ambulat?
- Quō poēta cum fīliā properat?
- Ubi nauta habitat?
- Quō Iūlia properat?
- Ubi Iūlia et nautā ambulant?
Note:
[i] Quō? where? [to
what place? into what place?]
[ii] Ubi? where? [in
what place?]
Unit [8]: Grammar
exercise
Supply the
proper case endings:
- Servae ē vīll___ in vi___ properant.
- Serva ex vi___ in vīll___ amphoram portat.
- Filia poētae ad ōr___ properat.
- Nāviculae ab ōr___ Italiae ad insul___ nāvigant.
- Iūlia nautam ad nāvicul___ vocat
