PREPOSITIONS                                          27

LESSON  V

PREPOSITIONS

26.   Nearly all relations of nouns to other nouns, to many
adjectives, and to verbs (except their relation to verbs as sub¬
ject and object) are expressed in English by prepositions, ow¬
ing to the lack of inflectional forms. In the highly inflected
Latin most of these relations are shown by the case-forms.

27.   All prepositions originally expressed concrete, physical
ideas of motion or location, and all other ideas now expressed by
them are derived from the figurative use of these original mean¬
ings. Therefore, when hesitating between the use of a case-
form or a preposition in Latin, search for an idea of motion or
location: if you find it, use a preposition; if not, use a case-form.
Above all, never use the mere vocabulary equivalent of the
English preposition without carefully considering the meaning
and the precise force of the English phrase, and the nature of
its relation to its governing word.

a. Latin avoids the use of prepositional phrases as noun
modifiers, except where position or motion (including the direc¬
tion of sentiment or feeling) is expressed after a noun derived
from a verb, or where the sense is about, concerning. Generally
an adjective or participle or a relative clause is substituted.

The war with Cassius, bellum Cassiantmi (lit., the Cassian war);
a revolt after surrender, rebellio facta post deditionem (here the par¬
ticiple facta prevents the modifying of rebellio by the prepositional
phrase); the angle on the Kent side, angulus qui est ad Cantium;
but, the road through the Alps, iter per Alpes; the shortest passage to
Britain, brevissimus in Britanniam traiectus; zeal for the Roman
people, in populum Romanum studium.

28.   The chief prepositions governing the ablative case are
a (ab), cum, de, e (ex), prae, pro, sine.