Exercise 28: Ablative Absolute
The ablative absolute consists of a noun (or pronoun) in the ablative together with a participle which agrees with it in number, case and gender.
The ablative tells you something about a verb, its background/time/circumstances.
The ‘absolute’ means that the ablative absolute phrase is separate from the grammar of the rest of the sentence.
The ablative absolute is used to describe actions logically connected with the main clause. The most common connections are temporal (‘when/after/while’), causal (‘because’ and concessive (‘although’).
NOTES:
a) the three tenses of the participle work exactly as in Exercise 20.
b) Occasionally a second noun is found in place of a participle: thus Saturno rege = ‘With Saturn as king’ / ‘While Saturn is/was king’.
c) IN AN ABLATIVE ABSOLUTE the ablative singular of the present participle ends -nte.
[Elsewhere it ends -nti when used as an adjective, and -nte when used as a noun; see Kennedy, paragraph 74 n.1]
EXAMPLES:
present participle:
i) Cicerone dicente discessi.
While ( = at the SAME TIME AS) Cicero was speaking I left.
Cicerone dicente discedam = While Cicero IS speaking I SHALL leave.
future participle:
ii) Cicerone dicturo discessi.
While Cicero was about to speak I left ( = BEFORE he spoke).
Cicerone dicturo discedam = I shall leave while Cicero is yet to speak.
past participle:
iii) multis verbis dictis discessi.
Many words having been spoken I left ( = AFTER much speech).
multis verbis dictis discedam = I shall leave after many words have been spoken.
