Ch. 4

Chapter 4 continues our participle composition, focusing on ablative absolutes

Here is the HW for ch. 4: 4a 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 4b 2, 4, 7


ABLATIVE ABSOLUTES

Not all of these sentences have ablative absolutes. If the participle modifies or describes any noun or pronoun in the main clause, it must agree in gender, number, and case with that word and NOT be an ablative absolute.

Also note that the footnote on 4a forbids you to use deponent verbs in that section.

Note that Latin has 3 main participles: present active (amans), perfect passive (amatus), and future active (amaturus). The future passive participle or gerundive (amandus) is more rare and typically limited to fewer circumstances--do not use it in this chapter.

Of the three usual Latin participles, note that the present and future are always active (even if the verb is deponent) and may take objects if appropriate (femina librum lectura = "the woman about to read the book").

The perfect is always passive unless it is the perfect participle of a deponent verb, which is passive in form but active in meaning (secutus = "having followed"). When passive the perfect participle may take an ablative of agent construction to show the person by whom the action was done (vir a puella victus = "the man (having been) conquered by the girl").

RELATIVE TIME

Participles and infinitives in Latin show relative time not actual time.

Thus present participles usually show the SAME time as the main verb, NOT necessarily present time, since it might be the same time as a past or future main verb.

E.g. Ambulans per agros, canem vidit. SAME time as vidit (past)
Walking through the fields (in the past), he saw a dog.

Perfect participles show an EARLIER time than the main verb, NOT necessarily past time, since a time earlier than a future tense main verb might be future or present.

E.g. Urbs ab hostibus capta delebitur. EARLIER time than delebitur but still future
The city, having been captured (in the future) by the enemy, will be destroyed.
Better English: The city, once captured by the enemy, will be destroyed.

Future participles show a LATER time than the main verb, NOT necessarily future time, since a time later than a past verb might still be past or present.

E.g. Vir fabulam dicturus domum reliquerat. LATER than reliquerat but still past
The man going to tell the story had left the house.


Notice the normal Latin word order puts the participle and the noun/pronoun it modifies on opposite sides of the noun phrase, this is not like English word order. Attributive (i.e. usual descriptive) adjectives and and participles come after nouns/pronouns they modify. Circumstantial adjectives and participles usually come before.

Compare English versus Latin order:
Ablative Absolutes-
Vincente Caesare, Cicero maestus erat.
Caesar winning, Cicero was sad.
Proelio celeriter incepto, milites non iam advenerunt.
The battle having been quickly begun, the soldiers had not yet arrived.
The light departing slowly from the sky, everyone went home.
Luce e caelo segniter egrediente, omnes domum ierunt.
Attributive Participles-
The loving mother helps her children.
Mater amans liberos adiuvat.
The man running through the street is my brother.
Vir per viam currens est frater meus.
Circumstantial Participles-
Coming to town, he bought a cow.
Ingressus in urbem, bovem emit. (ingressus modifies understood "he" subject)
While swimming, he reached the shore.
Natans, ad litus pervenit. (natans modifies understood "he" subject)