The Ultimate Guide to Latin Prepositions

Have questions about Latin prepositions? This post will tell you everything you need to know!

I will start by defining what a preposition is and giving a few examples in English. Then I will move on to Latin examples and how they work. And, at the end, you can even download a list of the most common Latin prepositions!

(Are you already familiar with the concept of prepositions, prepositional phrases, and objects of the preposition? If so, then you can skip to the section on using prepositions in Latin.)

What is a preposition?

First of all, time for a definition. A preposition is a word that explains the relationship of a noun (or pronoun) to another part of the sentence.

This relationship can be spatial, directional, or temporal, among other things. But before the terminology becomes too confusing, let’s look at a few English examples.

The prepositions are in bold in the following sentences.

The house is in Italy.

I received a letter from my dad.

They left after the show.

I cried because of the conversation.

In the first sentence, the preposition in describes how the house (a noun) relates to Italy (another noun). Similarly, in the second sentence, the preposition from explains the relationship between my dad (a noun) and the letter (another noun).

In the last two sentences, the prepositions express a noun’s relationship to the action of the verb. After describes how the show relates to the leaving, while because of explains how the conversation triggered the crying.

Now you have an idea of what prepositions look like in English. Note that in English, a single preposition can consist of multiple words. Examples are because of, on account of, for the sake of, etc.

Latin prepositions are typically only one word.

What is a prepositional phrase?

If you remember from above, I defined a preposition as a word that expresses the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and another part of the sentence. This means that a preposition is always accompanied by a noun (or pronoun).

This noun (or pronoun) is called the object of the preposition. In English, and usually in Latin, the object comes after the preposition. The preposition and its object together are called a prepositional phrase.

Examples of prepositional phrases:

under the bed

in front of the blue car

according to them

through many years

in war and peace

As you can see, prepositional phrases can contain multiple words. The requirement is preposition + noun, but sometimes there are two nouns (two objects of the preposition) or the noun is modified by an adjective.

Fun Fact: the word preposition comes from the Latin verb praepōnō, which means “put before.” This is because a preposition usually goes before its noun!

A Guide To Latin Prepositions

In Latin, prepositional phrases work pretty much the same way that they do in English. The prepositional phrase consists of the preposition itself and then the object of the preposition (the noun or pronoun).

Now here’s the thing. Latin is an inflected language, which means that every noun and pronoun has a grammatical case. So, you may ask, what Latin case goes with prepositions?

In Latin, the object of the preposition will be in either the ablative case or the accusative case. There are some general rules for when Latin prepositions take which case, and I will explain them below.

But in general, I recommend that you memorize the case that the preposition takes when you memorize the preposition itself. If you use flashcards to study, then make sure that you list this case on your flashcard.

One last thing. In Latin, the object of the preposition almost always follows the preposition. Occasionally this will vary in poetry for artistic effect.

Which prepositions take the ablative in Latin?

Prepositions that take the ablative fall into various categories.

First, prepositions that express “place where” (i.e. the location where something occurs) tend to take the ablative.

• in – in, on
• sub – under, at the foot of

Prepositions that express “place from which” also tend to take the ablative.

• ab / ā – from, away from; by
• dē – from, down from
• ex / ē – out of, from

There are also prepositions that don’t fit into either of these neat categories. Here are some examples:

• cum – with
• prō – for, on behalf of; in front of
• sine – without

Which prepositions take the accusative in Latin?

The accusative case also accompanies quite a few prepositions. Some of these fall into the category of motion to or toward.

• ad – to, toward; at
• in – into, onto

But more often than not, you just need to memorize that a specific preposition takes the accusative. Here are more examples:

• ante – before
• contrā – against
• ob – on account of
• per – through
• post – after, behind
• propter – on account of
• sub – under, up to, to the foot of
• trāns – across

I like to think that some of these prepositions have a more “accusative” feel. I associate the accusative with motion of any sort – for example, motion through (per) or across (trāns).

In and sub: ablative or accusative?

You may have noticed that the prepositions in and sub showed up on both the ablative and the accusative preposition lists. There is an easy explanation.

When these prepositions indicate the place where something is or occurs, then they take the ablative.

Soror sēdet sub arbōre. = The sister sits under the tree. (no motion; ablative)

Domus est in silvīs. = The house is in the woods. (no motion; ablative)

But when in or sub indicates motion into or under a place, then they take the accusative.

Soror currit sub arbōrem. = The sister runs under / up to the tree. (she was previously not under the tree, and now she runs under it; the motion requires the accusative)

Canis currit in silvās. = The dog runs into the woods. (motion; accusative)

Pay close attention whenever you see in or sub in a sentence, and you will soon get the hang of it. You can also check out my Instagram post on the topic:

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Do Latin prepositions ever take the genitive?

Sometimes textbooks will say that Latin has prepositions that take the genitive case. This is sort of correct – it depends on how you look at it.

Latin has two nouns that, when they are in the ablative case, can act like prepositions.

• causā = because of, for the sake of
• grātiā = in favor of, for the sake of

Causā is the ablative singular of causa, ae “reason, cause”. Grātiā is the ablative singular of grātia, ae “favor”. Both causā and grātiā act as ablatives of cause – they explain the reason that something is occurring.

These nouns can be modified by a noun (or pronoun) in the genitive. Technically this would be a possessive genitive, but since causā and grātiā are acting like prepositions we can think of these genitives as genitives with prepositional phrases.

Note: the noun in the genitive almost always comes before causā or grātiā.

pācis causā = for the sake of peace

honōris grātiā = for the sake of honor

From a grammatical perspective, causā and grātiā are technically not prepositions. But it is often simpler for students to think of them as prepositions!

List of Latin Prepositions

Now let’s look at a list of the most frequently used Latin prepositions. They are organized in accord with how common they are (according to the DCC Latin Core Vocabulary).

You may already recognize some of these prepositions because they also show up in English phrases taken from Latin. Expressions such as ad hominem, per capita, and pro bono all include a Latin preposition!

Preposition	Case	Definition
in	Abl.	in, on, among
in	Acc.	into, onto, against
cum	Abl.	with
ab / ā	Abl.	from, away from; by
ex / ē	Abl.	from, out of
per	Acc.	through
dē	Abl.	from, down from; concerning
inter	Acc.	between, among
sine	Abl.	without
ante	Acc.	before; in front of
sub	Abl.	under, at the foot of
sub	Acc.	under, up to, to the foot of
prō	Abl.	in front of; for, on behalf of
post	Acc.	after; behind
prope	Acc.	near to
apud	Acc.	near, by; at the house of
contrā	Acc.	against, opposite to
ob	Acc.	on account of
propter	Acc.	on account of
suprā	Acc.	above, over
ultrā	Acc.	beyond
intrā	Acc.	within
circum / circā	Acc.	around, about

These prepositions are super important for you to memorize – especially the ones at the top of the list. You will see them everywhere, even in the easiest Latin novellas.

This is why I have put together a printable handout for you. Inside the handout, the prepositions are organized in two different ways: first alphabetically and then according to which case they take.

This preposition study guide can be yours right now! Join my email list to download. You will also receive weekly emails about Latin and you will have access to all future Latin-learning freebies!

So download your study guide and make sure you are comfortable with the most common Latin prepositions!

Latin Prepositions vs. Adverbs

By now you should have a pretty good idea of what Latin prepositions are and which cases they can take. But I want to address one more topic that can cause confusion for Latin learners (especially those that are speakers of English).

In English, many prepositions can also be adverbs. Consider the following two sentences:

1. I fell in the water.
2. I fell in.

In the first sentence, in is a preposition. You can tell because in is followed by an object of the preposition (the water).

But in the second sentence, in is an adverb. It describes the action of the verb and explains where I fell. There is no noun or pronoun accompanying in, and that’s how we know it is an adverb and not a preposition.

In Latin, in can only be a preposition. You will never see it on its own as an adverb.

There are some prepositions in Latin that can also be used as adverbs, but most cannot be. If you look up a preposition in a good Latin dictionary, you can check its various meanings and see if it can be used adverbially.

Here are three common prepositions that can also be adverbs:

• ante – 1. before, in front of (preposition) 2. before, earlier (adverb)
• post – 1. after, behind (preposition) 2. after, later (adverb)
• contrā – 1. against (preposition) 2. on the contrary, in reply (adverb)

Let’s look at an example.

1. Ante cēnam vēnī. = I came before dinner.
2. Ante vēnī. = I came earlier.

In the first sentence, ante is a preposition, since it is used with the noun cēnam. In the second, on the other hand, ante is used on its own as an adverb to mean “earlier”.

Pay attention when you see Latin prepositions and make sure you don’t confuse them with Latin adverbs. Most of the time, this won’t be an issue – but sometimes it can cause trouble if you aren’t careful.

Latin Prepositions: Final Thoughts

Prepositions are important building blocks of language. As we have seen, we need prepositions to express the relationships between nouns and other parts of the sentence. This is crucial for communication and understanding.

I hope this post has helped you to feel more confident with Latin prepositions. Don’t forget to download your Latin preposition study guide. It will help you to prioritize the most important prepositions!

If you memorize these frequently used prepositions, then you will rarely come across a preposition that you don’t recognize.

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