ABLATIVE ABSOLUTES

1. ABLATIVE ABSOLUTES

2. You cannot have an ablative absolute without a participle in the ablative case.Usually you will also have a noun in the ablative case.

3. The two most common participles that are used in ablative absolutes are perfect passive participles and present active participles. In order to form or translate an ablative absolute, you have to know about these.

4. remember, perfect passive participles are the fourth principal parts of verbs. they are translated as "having been ___________ed" and decline like -us, -a, um adjectives.

5. so, let's look at a perfect passive participle.  Here is the really neat thing about ablative absolutes.  There are only a few possible endings you can have for these participles that are ablative:-o   is either masculine or neuter singular-a  is feminine singular ablative-is  is the ablative plural for all genders

6. Take the verb laudo.It's 4th principal part is laudatus.If we make it ablative, you only have three options:laudatolaudatalaudatisthat's IT. 

7. Now,  we translate laudatus as "having been praised", or just "praised".  There are no other options for this.And that is true of all the forms.   When you put it with a noun in an ablative absolute, it goes like this:amico laudato   =  with the friend having been praisedpuella laudata =  with the girl having been praisednautis laudatis = with the sailors having been praisedThere is NO other way to do this.

8. Now, let's look at how to turn a phrase into an ablative absolute when you are using this kind of participle:here is an example from the exercises in Unit 7:(miles, eligo, plural, perfect passive participle), exercitus erat plenus virorum.now, it tells you it needs to be plural, so all you need is the fourth principal part of eligo  (electus) and the ablative plural ending (is) and the ablative plural of miles (militibus) and then you have electis militibusthat is it.  electis militibus. 

9. Now, let's look at another one: (Roma deleo singular perfect passive), omnes cives novas villas invenerunt.   Take your verb, find it's fourth principal part: deleo, delere, delevi, deletus Consider the gender of Roma  (feminine), make it ablative singular (Roma) Change the ending to match on the participle: Roma deleta is your answer.

10. Ok, now let's look at the OTHER kind of participle.  These are present active participles and you have to know what conjugation a verb belongs to in order to form them.However, it's awesome, because your only possible endings are either -e or -ibus.  Less to worry about.On the next slide we will review how to tell what conjugation a verb belongs to:

11. To tell a verb's conjugation, you have to look at its second principal part. The vowel there will tell you what conjugation a verb belongs to!First Conjugation:  laudo, laudareSecond Conjugation:  moneo, monEreThird conjugation:   duco, ducereThird -io Conjugation:  capio, capereFourth Conjugation:  audio, audire. Now we will learn how to form present active participles:

12. Now, the conjugation of a verb will dictate what vowel you use to form the present active participle:First Conjugation:  laudo, laudareSecond Conjugation:  moneo, monEreThird conjugation:   duco, ducereThird -io Conjugation:  capio, capereFourth Conjugation:  audio, audire. You take the first principal part, drop the -o, add your vowel, then add -ns.  Let's do that:

13. laudo  becomes laud-, then we add an -a-, then -ns, which gives us laudans.laudans is a first conjugation present active participle.For second conjugation, you use an -e-, then the -ns.For third, you also use an -e- then the -ns.For third io's and fourth you use -ie- and then the -ns. 

14. So what you get is this:laudansmonensducenscapiensaudiensNow, these work like third declension adjectives and ALL of them have a genitive in -ntis.laudans, laudantis;  monens, monentis;  ducens, ducentis;  capiens, capientis;  audiens, audientis.

15. Let's look at how to DECLINE one of these:    Masculine/Feminine            Neuter        laudans                            laudans        laudantis                           laudantis        laudanti                            laudanti        laudantem                        laudans        laudante                           laudanti        laudantes                          laudantia        laudantium                        laudantium        laudantibus                       laudantibs        laudantes                           laudantia         laudantibus                        laudantibus

16. Now,  present active participles ALWAYS translate with -ing.   running, following, praising, loving, doing, etc. So when you find one, remember that. When you have to create an ablative absolute with these, the procedure is the same:  put your noun in the ablative, then form the participle and put it in the ablative in the gender that agrees with the noun. Let's look at some examples in the next slide.

17.  (amicus, currens, singular present active), omnes clamabant.  First, amicus.  In the ablative singular, it's amico.Now it's also masculine (you will want to remember that when you form your participle).Now, curro is third conjugation.  so you use an e.Take curro, drop the -oNow you have curr-Add your -e because it's third.Now you have curre-Add your -ns because it's a present active.Now you have currens.Remember, it's currens, currentis.  Now look at your chart...what is the masculine singular ending?Your answer is amico currente!

18. Now, your turn to do some work: homo laudo,  present active plural homo laudo, perfect passive singular rex interficio,  perfect passive singular arbor ascendo,  perfect passive plural puer clamo,  present active singular