Ablative Absolute EASY EASY EASY USES THE PARTICIPLES

IMPORTANT SUPER IMPORTANT IN LATIN. ThERE ARE A TON OF GOOD PRACTICE PROBLEMS

Ablative Absolute EXAMPLE MORINING ANNOUNCEMENT

That being said, we are now going to discuss lunch.

It is not

Having said that, John cried.

THE CLAUSES ARE RELATED. SAME SUBJECT

KEY

 

Example: Blue

Most important= _This__

Important= Yellow

Type 1= Green

Type 2=Orange

Type 3=Red

ABLATIVE ABSOLUTE DEFINITION

A Latin grammatical construction, consisting of a noun/pronoun and a participle (or adjective/noun) both in the ablative case, forming an independent phrase that sets the time, cause, or condition for the main sentence's action, acting like an adverbial clause but without grammatical connection to the main verb/clause.

Separation is what makes the Ablative Absolute special. Completely separate from the main clause. It is Physically separated and Separated because it has a different subject than the main clause of the  sentence 

1. Using either an ablative noun/pronoun+ Noun or adjective in ablative

2. Or an ablative noun/pronoun + Present participle in ablative

3. Or an ablative noun/pronoun + Past Participle in ablative

It is often Translated as

1. TYPE 1 "when/with/since/while + Noun + [X -ing ] EX. with the poet praising

2. TYPE 2 when / since / with + Noun + [(being)] + Noun/ Adjective. EX.With Caesar (being) the leader

3. TYPE 3 NO ADDED PART NOUN + having been + __-ed] EX. The soldiers having been praised

• Describes the circumstances under which the main action happens
• Often translated with when, after, since, although
• AA has a different subject from the main clause

Ablative Absolute short definition

Describes the circumstances under which the main action happens
• Often translated with when, after, since, although

Ablative Absolute separation example

Romam videntes, viri gaudebant. 

= Seeing rome, The men were rejoicing

What is the subject of the sentence? 

The subject is viri (the men)

What is the participle videntes describing? 

viri (the men)

Does this sentence contain an AA? 

No, same subject not separated and also romam not in ablative case

Romā visā, viri gaudebant. 

With Rome having been seen, the men were rejoicing

What is the subject of the sentence? 

The subject of the sentence is men

What is the participle visa describing? 

Roma ( rome)

Does this sentence contain an AA? 

Yes, different subject separated and has ablative endings

Tricks for doing Ablative Absolute Literally for right now

but also elegent way

Like other participial phrases, the ablative absolute can be translated quite literally, as in Roma visa, (with Rome having been seen). 

Other more elegant way is to transform the phrase to a clause when translating, converting the participle to a verb in the appropriate tense, treating the ablative noun as its subject, and supplying the most logical conjunction (usually 'when,' 'since,' or 'although:' 

Examples

1. Eo imperium tenente, eventum timeo. → “While he was holding power, I fear the outcome.”

2. His rebus auditis, coepit timere. → “When these things had been heard, he began to fear.”

3. Literal vs. better style:

   • Literal: “With him holding power, I fear the outcome.”

   • Better: “While he was holding power, I fear the outcome.”

Or: when, since, after, etc. 

When, since, after, etc, these things had been heard, he began.... 

3 TYPES OF ABLATIVE ABSOLUTE

I) TYPE I: NOUN (in abl) + PRESENT PARTICIPLE (in abl) 

Formation: Present participle in the ablative + noun in the ablative
• Claudia audiente — “while Claudia was listening”

II) TYPE II: NOUN (in abl) + Noun/or Adjective (in abl) 

• Numā rege — “with Numa as king”

III)TYPE III: NOUN (in abl) + PERFECT PAST PARTICIPLE (in abl) 

• ex. Romā visā — “with Rome having been seen”

TYPE 1 ABLATIVE ABSOLUTE

NOUN (in abl) + PRESENT PARTICIPLE (in abl) 

Formation: Present participle in the ablative + noun in the ablative

Examples TRANSLATED LITERALLY:

1. Laudante poeta eius matrem, regina gaudebat. =

   1. (with the poet praising her mother, the queen was rejoincing

2. Laudantibus poetis eius matrem, regina gaudet. +

   1. With the poets praising her mother, the queen rejoices.

To do these just see the noun’s gender and number and you know it is in ablative so you find those and match them. The endings will not always match for these because Present ACTIVE Participle is 3rd declension endings and the nound can be 1st or 2nd declension and it will keep its declension endings. and for this gender does not matter for 3rd declensions other than Neuter.

IMPORTANT RULE FOR TYPE 1 ABLATIVE ABSOLUTE

PRESENT PARTICIPLES

If you use a present participle in an ablative absolute, the action happens at the SAME TIME as the main verb.

Examples

1⃣ Main verb = present

Imperātōre canente, omnēs tacent.
→ While the commander is singing, everyone is silent.

2⃣ Main verb = imperfect (past ongoing)

Imperātōre canente, omnēs tacēbant.
→ While the commander was singing, everyone was silent.

CONTEMPORANEOUS

Ablative absolute Type 2

NEED TO DO OVER BREAK

Ablative absolute Type 3

NEED TO DO OVER BREAK

Ablative Absolute Practice problems on PDF

Choose the English phrase that best translates the Latin word or phrase in italics. 

Just translate whole sentence if needed

1. Signō datō, milites urbem  oppugnaverunt. 

•  The signal having been given

• when the signal was given

• although the signal was given 

AA is Signō Datō because both in ablative and clause is alone and also verb and noun together.

and you know it is a verb and taken from 4th principal part and has no -nt so you know perfect passive participle is having been -ed. So it would be the signal having been given. DO THAT FOR ALL OTHERS. because perfect passive participle is always having been ___

2. Servus non accusatus fugit. 

• although he was not accused

• not having been accused

• because he was not accused 

3. urbe oppugnatā, bellum geremus. 

•  when the city had been attacked

• the city having been attacked

• if the city is attacked 

4. Servus accustus fugit 

• although he was accused 

• having been accused 

• because he was accused 

5. Multis militibus interfectis, oppicum tamen expugnavimus 

• many soldiers having been killed

• since many soldiers were killed

• although many soldiers were killed 

6. Pueri laudati laeti erant. 

• having been praised

• because they were praised 

• although they were praised 

Ablative Absolute Practice problems on PDF

Match the italicized English phrase to its Latin equivalent. 

HAVE NOT LEARNED SOME OF IT YET!!!!!!!

NEED TO DO OVER BREAK

Step 1: Identify the English meaning

Look at the sentence and figure out what kind of action or tense it expresses. Ask yourself:

• Is it present, past, or future?

• Is it completed, ongoing, or about to happen?

• Is it active or passive?

Spend time and do them

1. Are they going to come? 

2.   When he had found the book, he was happy. 

   1. You know that it is not an ablative absolute because the subjects are the same. But it is a perfect passive participle because it is had ___. So The subject is

3. Are they coming? 

4. We saw the boys running. 

5. I know that they are coming. 

6. While running to the street, the boy fell. 

7. I knew she wrote the letter. 

8. She said the letter had been written. 

9. She was about to run across the street.

10. He said they had come. 

ANSWER BANK

a. scriptae erant

b. scripsisse

c. scriptās esse

d. scriptum esse 

e. cursūra 

f. currentēs 

g. currebat 

h. cursūri 

i. curréns 

j. inveniēns librum 

k. venturi 

1. libro inventō 

m. venire 

m veniuntne 

o. vēnisse 

p. vēnērunt 

Ablative Absolute Practice problems on PDF

Complete the Latin sentences by translating the English words in parentheses. 

1. (What) _____librös lēgisti? 

2. Auctor (by whom) ______liber scriptus est nōtus est. 

3. (What) _____ facis? 

4. (Whose) _____ consilium id est? 

5. (Who)_____  trāns viam cucurrerunt? 

6. (To what) ______ puerō librum dönās? 

7. Puellae (whose)  ___ librōs habeō sorōrēs meae sunt. 

8. (What)  ______ auxilium exspectās? 

9-10. (Who)  ________ pecuniam (which)  , ______ āmïserās invēnit? 

Ablative Absolute Practice problems on PDF

THE GOOD PART

TRANSLATE THE AA PHRASES

1. Antôniô cònsule  _____

2. të vivo ____ 

3. magistratibus creātis ____

4. fäbulā närrätä  _____

5. rege loquente  _____

6. öráculo dato ______

7. verbis dictis _____

8. timore depositö  _____

9. vestimentis indūtīs _____

10. pecânia ǎmissǎ ______

11. ianuă apertă ______

12. Gallia pacātā  ______

13. ignibus exstinctis ____

14. cibo sumpto  _____

15. senatoribus adstäntibus  _____

Ablative absolute not always separated by commas

Editors of Latin texts often set off the Ablative Absolute construction by commas, which makes it easy for the reader to spot. However, this is not always the case. Also, sometimes the two words (there must always be two) which make up the Ablative Absolute are separated from each other by qualifying words or phrases. 

Examples Consiliis ducis ab senatoribus compertis, After the leader's plans had been discovered by the senators, 

Ablative Absolute Practice problems on PDF

PART 2

TRANSLATE THE AA PHRASES

Number 1 done and how to do it

Translate the following Ablative Absolute phrases. 

1. Mercurio é caelo dilapsō 

• For this one you know it is type 3 with the perfect passive participle because it is a verb from 4th principal part and has 2nd declension ending.

• Then you know for an AA you need a noun and a participle in the ablative

• The noun is Mercurio is Mercury in ablative singular

• The participle(verb) is fall/ slip and for the Perfect Passive Participle you translate to having been

• Then the é caelo is added and it is in ablatve and translated to from the sky

• Put it all together and get Mercury having (been) fallen from the sky

2. saxīs ē mōntibus in viam collapsis 

• The rocks having collapsed from the mountains into the road

• it is acuative road because into the road they collapsed.

3. ventis tempestate agitātis 

4. his rebus und die perfectis 

5. påce in Asiam ǎ Mario imposita 

6. ossibus in terra sepultis 

7. puerò ĕ senātů čiectõ 

8. võtis a Troianis factis 

9. filia ducis in matrimonium dată 

10. milite metü subitō exânimātō 

11. vēlīs in altum datīs 

12. dis cotidiē iuvāntibus 

13. filio Romam à patre praemisså 

14. scelere magnð ab eð perfecto 

15. libro de amicitiâ â Cicerone scripto 

16. quo crudeliter facto 

17. litteris sine moră scriptīs 

18. signō å príncipe dată 

19. quibus rebus ab omnibus auditis 

20. cenă celeriter sumptă 

How to do the next PROBLEMS

Restate the first clause in each of these sentences as an Ablative Absolute. 

In an Ablative Absolute, the construction often uses:

1. The noun that the participle modifies is actually the object or subject of the action in the original clause.

2. The participle of the verb.

3. The original subject often goes with ab (if active) to show “by whom” the action happened.

Example

1. Postquam Antonius complürēs nāvēs āmīsit, Agrippa consilium novum cepit. 

It is translated to this (“After Antonius lost several ships, Agrippa made a new plan.”)

Naves (ships is in the accusative) it is the direct object. However in ablative absolute it becomes the noun with the participle

Then amisit is in the perfect participle so you get the 4th principal part and it is plural and feminine and in the ablative so get ammissis

Compluribus Navibus ammissis ab antonio

With several ships having been lost by Antonius…”

Ablative Absolute Practice problems on PDF

PART 3

Restate the first clause in each of these sentences as an Ablative Absolute. 

Restate the first clause in each of these sentences as an Ablative Absolute. 

When you see cum, dum, quod it means it is taking place Contemporaneously. So present Active Participle

When you see postquam, means it is taking place after the first action to Perfect Passive Participle

e.g., Postquam pontifex sacrificium perfêcit, pompam spectāvimus. 

sacrificio_______a pontifice  perfectă 

1. Postquam Antonius complürēs nāvēs āmīsit, Agrippa consilium novum cepit. 

__________ ab Antönið  ________

How to solve

1. Identify the subject and the verb of the first clause

• Subject: Antonius

• Verb: āmīsit (is he/she/ it lost”) → this is perfect active participle because there is a postquam whohc means it was prior action.

Antoniō

ships are ablative plural

Here, the ships are being lost → the object nāvēs becomes part of the participle phrase.

Step 2: Make the noun(s) ablative

• Antonius → Antoniō (ablative singular)

• nāvēs → nāvibus (ablative plural)

---

Step 3: Use the perfect passive participle of the verb

• Verb: āmīsit → “having been lost”

• Perfect passive participle of amittere (to lose) is āmissa, -ae, -um

• Since nāvēs is plural feminine, we agree with nāvibus → āmissīs

---

Step 4: Put it together in Ablative Absolute

• Nāvibus āntoniō āmissīs → “with the ships having been lost by Antonius”

---

✅ Complete sentence in Ablative Absolute:
Nāvibus Antoniō āmissīs, Agrippa consilium novum cepit.
= “With the ships having been lost by Antonius, Agrippa devised a new plan.”

2. Cum septem cervi transfixi essent, Aenēās et socif convivium parāvērunt. 

__________ ________

3. Cum pōns trans Rhenum factus est, Caesar in Germaniam transivit. 

________trans Rhēnum  ______

4. Dum cantat imperätör, omnes tacent. 

________ ________

5. Quod caelum erat serënum, ad insulam năvigäre constituimus. 

_________ __________

6. Cum equus in urbem trāctus esset, Graeci multōs Trõiðnōs interfécérunt. 

____________ in urbem __________

7. Dum discipuli librõs legunt, magister scribebat. 

____________ ă discipulis __________

8. Postquam gemini in Tiberim missī sunt, multōs diēs pluit. 

____________ in Tiberim ___________