Prepositions

What case does each preposition govern?

Prepositions with the Accusative Case

ad, to, toward
ante, before, in front of
apud, among, in the presence of
in, into, against
inter, between, among
ob, on account of, because of

per, through
post, after, behind
propter, on account of
sub, under (with verbs of motion)
trâns, across

Prepositions with the Ablative Case

â, ab, from, by
cum, with
dê, down from, concerning
ê, ex, out of, from

in, in, on
pro, in front of, in behalf of
sine without
sub, under (with verbs of rest)

Nota Bene: Two prepositions italized in the charts above may take the accusative or ablative case depending on the English meaning:

Marcus in hortum ambulat. Marcus walks into the garden.
Sextus in hortô sedet. Sextus is sitting in the garden.

Use the spelling â and ê before Latin words beginning with a consonant, and ab and ex before vowels:

Davus ab aquâ ambulat. Davus walks away from the water.
Davus â silvâ ambulat. Davus walks away from the forest (woods).

When inserting a prepositional phrase into a sentence, it should be remembered that the phrase is used as an adverbial phrase; that is, the phrase is describing a verb, an adjective, or another adverb:

The boy ran with great speed.
The deer, tired from running, drank some water

Click here for a fun Prepositions Practice Activity!

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