A preposition is a word in front of a noun. The preposition does not decline, but it changes the case of the noun that follows it.
Most prepositions are followed by a noun in the accusative or the ablative case. Some can be followed by a noun in either case, depending on their meaning.
Prepositions + accusative
| ad |
towards, to, for, at |
| ante |
before |
| apud |
at, by, near, to, towards |
| inter |
among, between |
| iuxta |
next to, near, according to |
| per |
by, through, during |
| post |
after |
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Prepositions + ablative
| a (before a consonant) / ab (before a vowel) by, from |
| coram |
in the presence of, before |
| cum |
with |
| de |
from, concerning, of, for |
| e (before a consonant) / ex (before a vowel) from, out of |
| pre |
before |
| pro |
for, during, as far as, in accordance with, in return for |
| sine |
without |
Prepositions + accusative or ablative
| in |
+ accusative |
into, onto |
| in |
+ ablative |
in, on |
| super |
+ accusative |
over |
| super |
+ ablative |
upon |
The meaning of these preposition changes, using
- accusative to describe movement towards something
- ablative to describe the position of something which is static
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One of the main differences between medieval Latin and Classical Latin is the increased use of prepositions.
In Classical Latin, a phrase would be given using the noun with the appropriate case ending.
In medieval Latin, the same phrase may be given using a noun and a preposition, particularly ad, de, per and pro.
For example
‘the bishop of York’
| episcopus Eboraci |
Classical Latin – using the genitive case to express ‘of’. |
| episcopus de Eboraco |
Medieval Latin – using the preposition de to express ‘of’. de is followed by the ablative case. |
