Hannah

𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲: 𝗔𝗻 𝗜𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘈 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘓𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. In today’s Latin lesson, we will learn eight prepositions that take the accusative case: 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦, 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵, apud, 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦, 𝘱𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳, and 𝘢𝘥. To help us, my dog 𝘙𝘶̄𝘧𝘶𝘴 will once again be posing alongside an 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢 (“jar, amphora”) in this exclusive Learn Latin poster. This lesson is a continuation of our illustrated series on Latin prepositions. We have already explored 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲, so make sure to check out that lesson as well! Remember that a preposition, as its name suggests, is “placed before” the noun it governs: 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘦- (“before”) + 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰̄ (“placement, position”). When a preposition governs the accusative case, the noun must take its accusative form. For example, the nominative 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢 becomes 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘮, with the characteristic -𝘮 ending of the first-declension accusative singular. Prepositions express a 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽—usually spatial or temporal—between two people or things. Thus, when we say: 𝘙𝘶̄𝘧𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘦𝘴𝘵 we are expressing a relationship of position: Rufus is located in front of the amphora. Each of the eight prepositions in our poster describes a different relationship: ante + accusative — “before, in front of”: position in front of something (or precedence in time). 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 + accusative — “behind, after”: position behind something (or succession in time). 𝘢𝘱𝘶𝘥 + accusative — “at, by, beside, with”: proximity or association with someone or something. 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮 + accusative — “around”: position or movement around something. 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦 + accusative — “near, close to”: proximity to something. 𝘱𝘦𝘳 + accusative — “through, across”: movement through or across something. 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 + accusative — “between, among”: position or movement between two or more things. 𝘢𝘥 + accusative — “to, toward, up to”: direction toward a destination. Notice that the accusative does not necessarily imply movement. Compare: 𝘙𝘶̄𝘧𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘦𝘴𝘵. — “Rufus is near the amphora.” 𝘙𝘶̄𝘧𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘵. — “Rufus goes toward the amphora.” In the first sentence, Rufus is stationary; in the second, he is moving. Yet both prepositions govern the accusative case. One final detail: in 𝘙𝘶̄𝘧𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢̄𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘵, the noun appears in the accusative plural (amphorās) because Rufus is sitting between two amphorae! I hope this illustrated guide helps you remember these essential Latin prepositions. Save the poster for future reference, and feel free to share it with other Latin learners!