Latin Prepositions and the Cases They Take

Latin prepositions are short words with one big rule: each one is followed by a specific case. Learning which case goes with which preposition is essential.

Prepositions with the accusative

Preposition	Meaning	Example
ad	to, towards	ad urbem — to the city
ante	before	ante bellum — before the war
inter	between, among	inter amīcōs — among friends
per	through	per viam — through the road
post	after, behind	post bellum — after the war
prope	near	prope flūmen — near the river
trans	across	trans mare — across the sea

Prepositions with the ablative

Preposition	Meaning	Example
ab, ā	from, by	ab urbe — from the city
cum	with	cum amīcō — with a friend
dē	down from, about	dē bellō — about the war
ex, ē	out of, from	ex urbe — out of the city
prō	for, in front of	prō patriā — for one's country
sine	without	sine spē — without hope

In: two cases

In is followed by the accusative or the ablative, depending on meaning:

• In + accusative = motion into: in urbem — into the city.
• In + ablative = position in: in urbe — in the city.

The same applies to sub (under):

• sub + accusative — going under
• sub + ablative — being under

Motion and place

A useful rule: accusative shows movement toward something, while ablative shows position or separation.

Meaning	Case
going to Rome	ad Rōmam (acc.)
in Rome	in Rōmā (abl.)
from Rome	ab Rōmā (abl.)

Examples in sentences

• Puella ad forum ambulat. — The girl walks to the forum.
• Puer in hortō ludit. — The boy plays in the garden.
• Nautae ex urbe veniunt. — The sailors come out of the city.
• Miles cum amīcīs pugnat. — The soldier fights with friends.

Everyday phrases with prepositions

• ad hoc — for this
• ex libris — from the books of
• cum laude — with praise
• pro bono — for the good
• in vitro — in glass
• per annum — per year

Tips

1. Learn each preposition with its case.
2. Remember in + acc. vs in + abl.
3. Use the dictionary to check cases.

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