Genitive
Category Review
Date @August 23, 2021
Done?
General Use
Of Possession
Exception = Possesive Adjective
Of Material
gentive of material vs. ablative of material
Of Description
Of the Whole/Sphere
Objective Genitive
General Use
from character map app: ō ā ū ē ī
source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TVyta-6ztc&feature=youtu.be
Definition: A noun in the genitive case is used to limit or define another noun.
noun 2 limits/defines noun 1 Is it always of?
the book of the boy ⇒ liber NO, can use from and over as well!
puerī
vacātiō labōris⇒ a break from work
the book = head noun, regnum cīvitātis ⇒ royal power over
whereas the of the boy =
the state
dependent noun
Genitive 1
inimīcī Caesaris ⇒ the enemies of
Caesar
just not any enemies, they are
Caesar's enemies. See ⇒
limit
or define
Of Possession
from character map app: ō ā ū ē ī
source:
https://youtu.be/nJRk7DmpANM
Declensions
Genitive 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Singular ae ī is ūs eī
Plural ārum ōrum um uum ērum
Remeber rule #4 The genitives of nōs and vōs come in two forms, one ending in -
um (partitive genitive), the other than ends on -ī (objective genitive) (table included)
Genitive 2
Examples
vīlla Marcī⇒ either the house of Marcus or Marcus' house
exercitus Caesaris ⇒ either the army of Caesar or Caesar's army
Ariovistī mors ⇒ the death of Ariovistus or Ariovistus' death
Exception = Possesive Adjective
Personal pronouns are not used to show possession!
examples
canis meus ⇒ my dog
⇒ your house
villa tua
nāvēs nostrae ⇒ our ships
Possessive Adjective
Name my your (sg) our your (pl)
Untitled meus tuus noster vester
Of Material
from character map app: ō ā ū ē ī
source:
https://youtu.be/ZjH5UlaE2tY
Rule: The genitive can be used for the material from which something is made, or the
substance of which it consists.
Example
pōculum aurī ⇒ a cup of gold
Genitive 3
doesn't say a cup filled with gold its saying it is made out of gold.
gentive of material vs. ablative of material
Is there even a difference? Not much...look here
templum marmoris and templum dē marmore both mean temple of marbel
Of Description
from character map app: ō ā ū ē ī
source:
https://youtu.be/dornNtDxCtI
Rule: The genitive case can be used to describe a characteristic of something,
provided that there's an accompanying adjective.
Example:
vir summae virtūtis → a man of highest courage
vir = noun to be qualified
summae = genititve adjective
virtūtis = genitive noun
formīca magnī labōris → an ant of great toil (or work)
mīles maximī animī → a soldier of greatest courage
tempestas eius modī → a storm of this kind (or can be such a storm)
Of the Whole/Sphere
from character map app: ō ā ū ē ī
source:
Genitive 4
https://youtu.be/_JSbQGwJPWo
Rule: the genitive of the whole often follows words that denote a part.
also known as the partitive genitive!
Remeber rule #4 The genitives of nōs and vōs come in two forms, one
ending in -um (partitive genitive), the other than ends on -ī (objective genitive)
(table included)
4 flavors of "cheese"
with nouns and pronouns
1. pars urbis → part of the city
a. urbis/city = the whole
b. pars/parts = the word that denotes a part.
2. quis nostrum → who of us
with numbers, comparatives, superlatives, and pronominals
1. ūnus mīlitum → one of the soldiers
a. mīlitum = the whole
b. ūnus = the part
Genitive 5
2. hōrum omnium fortissimī → bravest of all these
3. mille passuum →a thousand (of) paces (can ommit of)
with neuter adjectives and pronouns
1. quid novī → what (of) news?
2. tantum spatī → so much (of) space
3. plūs vīnī → more (of) wine
with adverbs
nimium vīnī → too much (of) wine
satis pecūniae → enough (of) money
ubinam gentium sumus? → where in the world are we?
Tips!
don't wedge too much to the of! It can get in the way of a proper english
translation
numbers and other words can take a ablative phrase with dē or ex/ē
such as: ūnus mīlitum more often it will probably be ūnus ē (or dē)
mīlitibus
Objective Genitive
from character map app: ō ā ū ē ī
source:
https://youtu.be/11gp2HOV8DI
Rule: Nouns that describe actions or feelings take the objective genitive.
the objective genitive is kinda like the direct object of the noun (if that noun were a
verb)
the objective genitive does not possess its noun; it receives the action or feeling!
Genitive 6
a lot of the time its based on context, so pay attention
Examples
odium Caesaris → the hatred of Caesar
is it Caesar's hatred or the hatred directed at Caesar?
Caesar = objective genitive ⇒ hatred directed at Caesar!
Thus, these two sentences have the same meaning due to genitive
having the same role as the accusative
odium Caesaris habeō → I have a hatred for Caesar
ōdī Caesarem → I hate Caesar
timor canum (a fear of dogs) vs timeō canēs (I fear dogs)
the dogs are not possessing the fear, they are the object of the fear
Another example:
dēsīderium ōtī (a longing for rest) vs dēsīderō ōtium (I long for rest)
Genitive 7
