PRAEPOSITIONES

OBJECTS of PREPOSITIONS:

VERBAL PREFIXES:

 Prepositions: (prae+ponere; to place in front) define relationships and locations by setting up PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES. As their name suggests, prepositions most frequently come before their objects, often immediatly before them. This rule is less strictly followed in poetry.

 

 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES:

  • A prepositional phrase is composed of a PREPOSITION, the OBJECT of the PREPOSITION, and any words modifying that object.
  • The object of a preposition may represent a specific usage of its own case in addition to being the object of its preposition: e.g. Marcus [a Quinto] pulsatur. Marcus is struck [by Quintus]. [Quinto] is the object of the preposition [a] AND it is the ABLATIVE of AGENT.
  • Marcus [ad Iulium Iuliam ferentem] ambulat. Marcus walks [towards Iulius carrying Iulia.] The preposition is [ad]; the object of the preposition is [Iulium]. [ferentem] modifies [Iulium] and takes [Iuliam] as its direct object.

 OBJECTS of PREPOSITIONS:

 PREPOSITIONS with the ACCUSATIVE:
 PREPOSITION  MEANING
 ad towards, at, for the purpose of
 adversum, adversus towards, against, opposite
 ante before, in front of
 apud  among, at the house of
 circum, circa, circiter  around, about
 cis, citra  this side of
 contra against
 erga towards
 extra  outside
infra below
 inter between, among
intra inside
iuxta close to, beside, near
ob on account of, in the way of, because of, before
penes in the power of, with
per through, in the name of, by means of
post behind, after
praeter except, beyond, past
prope near
propter on account of, due to
 secundum after, behind, according to
 supra above
trans  across
versus, versum *1 towards, in the direction of
 ultra beyond
 usque all the way to

 PREPOSITIONS with the ABLATIVE:
 PREPOSITION  MEANING
 a, ab, abs from, by
 absque  without
coram in the presence of
 cum *2 with
 de about, concerning, down from
e, ex out of, from
prae before, as a result of, for
pro in return for, in the place of, on behalf of, for
sine without

PREPOSITIONS with the ACC. or ABL.:
 PREPOSITION  MEANING
 clam unknown to
in + ACC. with verb of motion/action  into, onto, against
in + ABL in, on
sub, subter + ACC up under, to the underside, just before, just after
sub, subter + ABL under, beneath, at
super + ACC above, over, beyond
super + ABL above, over, about, concerning

NOTA BENE:

  • 1. [Versus] is placed after the word which it governs.
  • 2. [Cum] functions as a subordinating conjunction as well as a preposition.

 

 ADVERBIAL USAGE:

  • A limited number of prepositions are able to function adverbially, without an object: e.g. Rosae Iuliae [circum] sunt. The roses of Iulia are [round about.]

 

 VERBAL PREFIXES:
 Preposition  Prefix (if different)  Meaning
  a, ab  "  away, from
 ad  ad; assimilates to: ac, af, ag, al, an, ap, ar, as, at  towards, in addition
 ante  "  before
 circum " around
cum com; assimilates to con, cor, col, co- with, completely, (intensifier)
 contra  "  against, opposite
 de  " down, away, utterly
 (inseperable)  dis; assimilates to dif, di- apart, not
e, ex  e, ex; assimilates to ef-  from, out (intensifier)
 in in; assimilates to im, il, ir into, onto, against
(inseperable)  in; assimilates to im, il, ir  not
 inter " between
(adverbial) intro within, in
ob ob; assimilates to oc, of, op towards, against, over
per per; assimilates to pel through, (intensifier) completely
post " after
prae " before, in front, (intensifier) very
pro " in front, away, instead of, for
(inseperable) re-; red back again
(inseperable) se- apart, without, aside
sub sub; assimilates to suc, suf, sug, sup, sur, sus under, up from below, somewhat
super " above, over
trans trans; tra- across

NOTA BENE:

  • When appended to the beginning of a verb, a preposition modifies the meaning of that verb adverbially as a prefix: e.g. [ferre] = to carry; [circumferre] = to carry around.
  • Several prepositions alter their final consonant to match that of the verb to which they are joined; this is termed ASSIMILATION: e.g. [ad] + [fero, ferre, tuli, latum] becomes [af-fero, af-ferre, at-tuli, al-latum].
  • Some prefixes are not able to stand alone as prepositions. These are termed INSEPERABLE prefixes.

Liber Grammaticus Latinus /\\||\\/ Classis Latina MIII Pagina Villae