Lesson XLIV

Ablative Absolutes

impedimentum, impedimenti (n.)

hindrance;plural: baggage

pes, pedis (m.)

foot

regnum, regni (n.)

kingdom, realm

rex, regis (m.)

king

expedio, expedire, expedivi, expeditus

set free

impedio, impedire, impedivi, impeditus

hinder, obstruct

ligo, ligare, ligavi, ligatus

bind, tie

verto, vertere, verti, versus

turn

Ablative Absolutes

• The ablative absolute is a VERY common construction in Latin.

• It’s a great example of how Latin uses just a few words to express a longer concept.

• Let’s look at the two components of ablative absolutes…

Where Ablative Absolutes Come From

• In Latin, ablative absolutes are phrases.• They usually have one noun + one participle.• They can also have 2 nouns + no participle.• They can also have 1 noun + 1 adjective.• Since we’ve been working with perfect passive

participles, you’ll see a lot of those.

Ablative Absolutes

• Part I: “Ablative”• This is pretty straightforward. The ablative

absolute is a phrase of at least 2 words, and those words are in the ablative case.

• That narrows down the endings we can use:– A, -O, -E (singular)– IS, -IBUS (plural)

Ablative Absolutes

• Part II: “Absolute”• This part is a little strange, but we do have

absolutes in English.• “Absolute” means “free from.”• The words in the ablative absolute phrase

can’t be grammatically connected to any other words in the sentence.

Ablative Absolutes

• A few examples of “absolutes” in English:– All things considered, I think the team played pretty

well.– That being the case, there’s really nothing she can do.The “absolute” outlines the circumstances or

background against which the main action of the sentence takes place.

REMEMBER: the absolute cannot contain any words repeated in the rest of the sentence, or grammatically connected to any other words in the sentence.

Identifying Absolutes

• The boy, sent to visit his aunt, lost his way.• After the boy had been freed, everyone was happy.• After the money was given, the boy was returned to his

parents.• The boys having been compelled to stop fighting, the

principal went back to her office.• Having read the books, we returned them to the library.• After putting the prisoner in jail, the policewoman went

home.

___ ____ __

_____ ____

How To Translate ’Em

• Just like participles we looked at recently, there are several ways to translate ablative absolutes into English.

• The oldy-but-goody version for noun + participle:– WITH _______ HAVING BEEN _________-ED– Libro amisso, puella legere non poterat.– With the book having been lost, the girl was not

able to read.

How to Translate ’Em

• Oldy-but-goody version II (for noun + noun)• WITH _______ BEING _________

– Caesare duce, milites bene pugnaverunt.– With Caesar being leader, the soldiers fought well.

How to Translate ’Em

• Oldy-but-goody version III (for noun + adjective)

• WITH THE _______ BEING _________

– Duce forte, milites bene pugnaverunt.– With the leader being strong, the soldiers fought

well.

How to Translate ’Em

• Those oldy-but-goody versions work OK, but you can make them sound better.– Libro amisso, puella legere non poterat.– With the book having been lost, the girl was not able to read.

• Because the book was lost, the girl was not able to read.• Since the book was lost, the girl was not able to read.• When the book was lost, the girl was not able to read.• REMEMBER: ablative absolutes describe the

circumstances or conditions (background) against which the sentence takes place.

How to Translate ’Em• Those “oldy-but-goody” versions work OK, but you can make them

sound better.– Caesare duce, milites bene pugnaverunt.– With Caesar as leader, the soldiers fought well.

• Because Caesar was the leader, the soldiers fought well.• When Caesar was the leader, the soldiers fought well.• Since Caesar was the leader, the soldiers fought well.

Words used to translate AA’s (depends on the overall meaning of the sentence…check carefully!)

when, was, since, after, because, if, although, when…was….

Your Turn!

• Worksheet page 1: translating ablative absolutes.