Many Latin verbs display flexibility of case use. For instance, the following verbs will take either (a) accusative Person + dative Gift; or (b) dative Person + ablative Gift.
- dōnō, dōnāre, dōnāvī, dōnātus: give
- impertiō, impertīre, impertīvī, impertītus: bestow
- induō, induere, induī, indūtus: put on (clothes)
- exuō, exuere, exuī, exūtus: take off (clothes)
- adspergō, adspergere, aspersī, adspersus: sprinkle, scatter, splatter (alt. aspergō, aspergere, etc.)
- īnspergō, īnspergo, īnspergere, īnspersī, īnspersus: sprinkle, scatter ‘into’
- circumdō, circumdāre, circumdedī, circumdatus: enclose, encircle
Exempla
- She gives her daughter a car: Fīliae autoraedam dōnat.
- She gives her daughter a car: Fīliam autoraedā dōnat.
- [More formally, we might say ‘she presents her daughter with a car.’]
- He puts the robe on his son: Nātō vestem induit.
- He puts the robe on his son: Nātum veste induit.
- [More formally, we might say ‘he dresses his son with a robe.’]
- I sprinkled the altar with water: Ārae aquam aspersī.
- I sprinkled the altar with water: Āram aquā aspersī.
- [More formally, for the first ‘I sprinkled water on the altar.’]
- I enclosed the horses with a fence: equīs caevam circumdedī.
- I enclosed the horses with a fence: equēs caevā circumdedī.
- [More formally, for the first ‘I placed a fence around the horses.’]
The Essential AG: 364
Latin for Addicts 