Schaum's Outline of Latin Grammar - Alan Fishbone [56]
The presence of the word tamen may show that a participle is being used concessively:
MõÅliteÅs urbem capienteÅs templum
Although they were capturing the city,
tamen noÅn deÅleÅveÅrunt.
nevertheless the soldiers did not
destroy the temple.
A participle can act as the protasis of a conditional sentence. When it does, the main verb will indicate what type of conditional sentence it is.
CHAPTER 9 Syntax of the Complex Sentence
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MõÅliteÅs urbem capienteÅs templum
If the soldiers capture the city, they will
deÅleÅbunt.
destroy the temple.
The future indicative deÅleÅbunt indicates a future-more-vivid conditional sentence.
MõÅliteÅs urbem capienteÅs templum
If the soldiers were capturing the city,
deÅleÅrent.
they would be destroying the temple.
The imperfect subjunctive deÅleÅrent indicates a present contrary-to-fact conditional sentence.
Urbs capta deÅleÅta esset.
If it had been captured, the city would
have been destroyed.
The pluperfect subjunctive deÅleÅta esset indicates a past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence.
Although in an isolated sentence like this such different possibilities may seem arbitrary, the actual context of written Latin will make it easier to see how best to translate such hard-working participles.
Exercise
9. Translate the following using as many of the above senses of the participle as is reasonably possible.
1. PoÅetae canentõÅ pecuÅniam reÅx doÅnaÅbit.
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2. PoÅetae canentõÅ reÅx tamen pecuÅniam noÅn dedit.
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3. PoeÅtae canentõÅ reÅx pecuÅniam doÅnaÅret.
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4. PoeÅtõÅs aÅ mõÅlitibus captõÅs reÅx pecuÅniam noÅn dedisset.
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5. ReÅx poeÅtõÅs a mõÅlitibus captõÅs pecuÅniam daÅns aÅ reÅgõÅnaÅ ameÅtur.
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Ablative Absolute
A participle together with the noun it modi®es, both in the ablative case, form a construction known as the ablative absolute. Together they represent another set of circumstances that accompanies the main clause in the sentence.
MõÅlitibus urbem capientibus reÅx
With the soldiers capturing the city, the
timeÅbat.
king was afraid.
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CHAPTER 9 Syntax of the Complex Sentence
Although it lacks a subordinating conjunction, the ablative absolute is like a subordinate clause in that it cannot stand on its own. However, its subject must be different from that of the main clause.5
LitterõÅs recitaÅtõÅs reÅx gemuit.
With the letter having been read, the
king groaned.
Like other participles, the participle in an ablative absolute may have different meanings based on context:
Because the letter had been read, the king groaned.
When the letter had been read, the king groaned.
Although the letter had been read, the king groaned.
Relative time applies. Whatever the force of recitaÅtõÅs, its perfect tense shows time prior to that of the main verb gemuit.
ReÅge moriente,6 reÅgõÅna tamen
Although the king was dying, the queen
disceÅssit.
departed.
The present participle shows time simultaneous with the perfect disceÅssit. Tamen indicates that the ablative absolute should be translated as a concessive clause.
PoeÅtõÅs interfectõÅs reÅx tamen timeÅbat.
Although the poets had been killed,
nevertheless, the king was afraid.
The perfect participle shows time prior to the main verb.
An ablative absolute can function as the protasis of a conditional sentence: MõÅlitibus captõÅs, reÅx noÅn timuisset.
If the soldiers had been captured, the
king would not have been afraid.
The pluperfect subjunctive timuisset indicates that the sentence is a past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence.