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Lesson Overview
It is time for another use of the ablative. This one is called the ablative absolute and is a
time construction.
The Ablative Absolute
This construction contains two things: 1) a noun in the ablative case, and 2) a participle in
the ablative case. The ablative absolute is separate from the rest of the sentence, in other
words, the main noun of the absolute may not be the subject of the main sentence. It also
tells when something is happening in the sentence:
cena parata Scintilla quiescebat. = When dinner was ready, Scintilla rested.
Quinto in Academia studente Brutus Athenas advenit. = While Quintus was studying
in the Academy, Brutus arrived at Athens.
In the first sentence, the participle parata is a perfect passive participle, so in this
sentence the absolute happens before the main clause. Use 'when' with these past
participles to show that it is happening before the main clause.
In the second sentence, the participle studente is a present participle, so in this sentence,
absolute happens at the same time as the main clause. Use 'while' with these present
participles to show that is happening at the same time as the main clause.
The ablative absolute is something unique to Latin although Greek has
a genitive absolute. Here's what it means in a nutshell: Instead of
using adverbial phrases starting with when, while, after and because
etc. The Romans liked to combine short phrases that included a noun
and a participle both in the ablative case. Since the phrase is really
separate it is called absolute. Since the phrase is in the ablative it is
an ablative absolute.
For example: When the dinner was ready, everyone gathered together
in the dining room. The first part of the sentence before the comma
will become an ablative absolute = cena parata, omnes convenerunt
in triclinio. The Latin words in the ablative absolute cannot be
repeated in the main clause. Your handout sheets today will explain
more about this phenomenon. The pattern is to have a string of
words in the ablative case including a participle usually at the
beginning of a sentence often set off by a comma.
For us it would be an adverbial phrase like: While it was raining
outside, I put soup on the stove. You don't use Latin words for when,
while, after, because, etc. - They are understood and can be
interchangeable.
The participles used in the ablative absolute construction are the present active and
perfect passive. Here is a review of how to form these participles and what they look like
in the ablative case both singular and plural.
The present active participle
e.g., amans,amantis: habēns, habēntis; dīcēns, dīcēntis; capiens, capientis,audiēns,
audiēntis = loving, holding, speaking, taking, hearing
The present active participle is formed by adding –ns or –nt plus the 3rd declension noun
and adjective endings to the stem of the verb. Remember, the stem is the infinivive minus
–re. Here are some examples.
Amo, amare – to love
Latin Verb
Amo, amare,amavi, amatus,a,um - love
Habeo,Habēre,habui,habitus,a,um – hold
Dico,dicere,dixi,dictus,a,um - say
Capio,capere,cepi,captus,a,um - take
Audio,audire,audivi,auditus,a,um - hear

Stem
ama
habe
dice
capie
audie
Present participle
amans, amantis….
habens,habentis….
dicens, dicentis….
capiens, capientis….
audiens, audientis….
Remember –io verbs like audio and capio have an –ie in their stem.
Here are the endings of the Present participle in the ablative case.
Present Participle
m/f
n
Abl. Singular
-nte
-nte
Abl. Plural
-ntibus
-ntibus
The perfect passive participle
The perfect passive participel is the 4th principal part of the verb. In English it translates
“having been _________ed or just with an –ed. Note how the 4th principal part of the
verb is provided in the vocabulary above. All you need to do is change the ending to
make it agree with the noun it modifies. This is the same form that was used for the
perfect passive verb forms only without the verb “to be: added as a second word.
e.g. Amatus, a, um – having been loved, loved; Habitus, a, um – having been held,
held; Dictus, a, um – having been told, told; Captus, a, um – having been taken,
taken; Auditus, a ,um – heard, having been heard.
Latin Verb
Amo, amare,amavi, amatus,a,um - love
Perfect passive participle
amatus,a,um
Habeo,Habēre,habui, habitus,a,um – hold
Dico,dicere,dixi, dictus,a,um - say
Capio,capere,cepi, captus,a,um - take
Audio,audire,audivi, auditus,a,um - hear
habitus,a,um
dictus,a,um
captus,a,um
auditus,a,um
Here are the endings of the perfect passive participle in the ablative case.
The perfect passive participle only uses the 1st and 2nd declension noun and adjective
endings.
Case Names
Abl. Singular
Abl. Plural
nd
2
Decl. (M)
o
is
st
1
Decl. (f)
ā
is
2nd
Decl. (N)
o
is
Nouns that are included in the ablative absolute construction will usually appear directly
before or after the partipicle. Nouns of the 1st,2nd and 3rd declensions will use the same
endings that appear on the participles above.