Introduction to the ablative case from a 1903 Latin textbook
Ingrammar, theablative case (pronounced/ˈæblətɪv/AB-lə-tiv;abbreviatedabl) is agrammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in thegrammars of various languages. It is used to indicate motion away from something. In different languages it can additionally serve various other purposes,e.g., to make comparisons (in Armenian). The word "ablative" derives from theLatinablatus, the (suppletive) perfect, passive participle ofauferre "to carry away".[1]
The ablative case inLatin (cāsus ablātīvus) appears in various grammatical constructions, including following various prepositions, in anablative absolute clause, and adverbially. The Latin ablative case was derived[2] from threeProto-Indo-European cases: ablative (from), instrumental (with), and locative (in/at).
InAncient Greek, there was an ablative case (ἀφαιρετικὴ πτῶσιςaphairetikē ptōsis) which was used in the Homeric, pre-Mycenaean, and Mycenean periods. It fell into disuse during theclassical period and thereafter with some of its functions taken by thegenitive and others by thedative.[3] The genitive case with the prepositionsἀπόapó'away from' andἐκ/ἐξek/ex'out of' is an example.
German does not have an ablative case but, exceptionally, Latin ablative case-forms were used from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century after someprepositions, for example aftervon invon dem Nomine: ablative of the Latin loanwordnomen. Grammarians at that time,Justus Georg Schottel,Kaspar von Stieler, Johann Balthasar von Antesperg andJohann Christoph Gottsched, listed an ablative case (as the sixth case after nominative, genitive, dative, accusative and vocative) for German words. They considered the dative case after some prepositions to be an ablative, as invon dem Mann[e]'from the man, of the man' andmit dem Mann[e]'with the man', while they considered the dative case after other prepositions or without a preposition, as indem Mann[e], to be a dative.
InSanskrit, the ablative case is the fifth case (pañcamī) and has a similar function to that in Latin. Sanskrit nouns in the ablative often refer to a subject "out of" which or "from" whom something (an action, an object) has arisen or occurred:pátramvṛkṣā́t pátati'the leaf fallsfrom the tree'. It is also used for nouns in several other senses, as for actions occurring "because of" or "without" a certain noun, indicating distance or direction. When it appears with a comparative adjective, (śreṣṭhatamam'the best'), the ablative is used to refer to what the adjective is comparing:'better than X'.
The modernArmenian ablative has different markers for each main dialect, both originating fromClassical Armenian. TheWestern Armenian affix-է-ē (definite-էն-ēn) derives from the classical singular; theEastern Armenian affix-ից-ic’ (both indefinite and definite) derives from the classical plural. For both dialects, those affixes are singular, with the corresponding plurals being-(ն)երէ(ն)-(n)erē(n) and-(ն)երից-(n)eric’.
InFinnish, the ablative case is the sixth of the locative cases with the meaning "from, off, of":pöytä – pöydältä "table – off from the table". It is an outer locative case, used like theadessive andallative cases, to denote both being on top of something and "being around the place" (as opposed to the inner locative case, theelative, which means "from out of" or "from the inside of"). With the locative, the receding object was near the other place or object, not inside it.
The Finnish ablative is also used in time expressions to indicate times of something happening (kymmeneltä "at ten") as well as with verbs expressing feelings or emotions.
The Finnish ablative has the ending-lta or-ltä, depending onvowel harmony.
The ablative case in Hungarian is used to describe movement away from, as well as a concept, object, act or event originating from an object, person, location or entity. For example, one walking away from a friend who gave him a gift could say the following:
a barátomtól jövök (I am coming (away) from my friend).
a barátomtól kaptam egy ajándékot (I got a gift from my friend).
When used to describe movement away from a location, the case may only refer to movement fromthe general vicinity of the location and not from inside of it. Thus,a postától jövök would mean one had been standingnext to the post office before, not inside the building.
When the case is used to refer to the origin of a possible act or event, the act/event may be implied while not explicitly stated, such asMeg foglak védeni a rablótól: I will defend you from the robber.
The application ofvowel harmony gives two different suffixes:-tól and-től. These are applied to back-vowel and front-vowel words, respectively.
Hungarian has a narrowerdelative case, similar to ablative, but more specific: movement off/from a surface of something, with suffixes-ról and-ről.
The ablative inTurkish (-den hali orayrılma hali) is expressed through the suffix-den (which changes to-dan,-ten, or-tan to accommodate thevowel andvoicing harmony):
In some situations simple ablative can have a "because of" meaning; in these situations, ablative can be optionally followed by the postpositiondolayı'because of'.
The ablative inManchu is expressed through the suffix-ci and can also be used to express comparisons. It is usually not directly attached to its parent word.
