Ablative (Latin)
In Latin grammar, the ablative case is one of the six noun cases, often called the sixth case. It comes from Proto-Indo-European forms such as the ablative, instrumental, and locative. The ablative expresses ideas similar to English prepositions like with, by, in, and at, and it is sometimes called the adverbial case because phrases in the ablative can act like adverbs. For example, incredibilī celeritāte means “with incredible speed” or “very quickly.”
Some uses of the ablative come from the PIE ablative, some from the instrumental, and some from the locative. It is very common with prepositions, as in ex urbe meaning “out of the city,” or cum eō meaning “with him.”
Four prepositions—in, sub, subter, and super—may take either the accusative or the ablative. For in and under, the accusative signals motion and the ablative signals no motion. For example, in urbe means “in the city,” while in urbem means “into the city.” With super, the accusative means “above” or “over,” and the ablative means “concerning.”
Many prepositions govern the ablative, showing how versatile the case is in indicating place, means, and other relationships.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:43 (CET).