Ablative of Price and Genitive of Quantity

The price of something is put in the ablative case.

• He sold the land for money: agrum pecūniā vendidit.
• Jokes: who wants them for a dinner: logōs rīdiculōs: quis cēnā poscit?

The ablative of price is similar to the ablative of penalty, as it is ultimately an (adverbial) ablative of material, describing the compositional means by which an exchange is achieved.

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What you’ll see as often or more often than the ablative of price are similar genitive words indicating indefinite value.

• It is of great importance to me: mihi magnī interest.
• That doesn’t matter to me: illud parvī mihi rēfert.
• The cloak is worthy a great deal to me: amiculum mihi tantī est.
• I care nothing for this color: istum colōrem nīlī (or nihilī) pendō.

Common words with the genitive of value: magnī, parvī, tantī, quantī, plūris, minōris, nihilī/nīlī, assis, floccī.

(floccī is ‘of a lock of wool.’)

• I care not a straw: nōn floccī pendō.

The verbs of buying and selling:

• concilio, conciliāre, conciliāvī, conciliātus: to buy
• parō, parāre, parāvī, parātus: to buy
• redimō, redimere, redēmī, redemptus: to buy back
• vendō, vendere, vendidī, venditus: to sell
• dō, dāre, dedī, datus: to give, sell

For more on intersum and rēferō:

https://latinforaddicts.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/thats-interesting/

The Essential AG: 416-17

The Dative with Compound Verbs

Verbs Taking the Dative (p6/7)

The Dative with Compounds

Compounds with Prepositions

Verbs with the prepositions ad, ante, con, circum, in, inter, ob, post, prae, prō, sub and super will take a dative

• “In these cases, the dative depends not on the preposition, but on the compound verb in its acquired meaning” [AG, 370a]
• Therefore, in my opinion, the only sure method is good guesswork: does the meaning of the verb appear to demand a dative?

(Some) Compounds

• I do no agree with them: nōn eīs adsentior.
• The nature of man is superior to beasts: nātūra hominis pecudibus antecēdit.
• He was in accord with himself: sibi ipse cōnsēnsit.
• Virtues are always connected with pleasures: virtūtēs semper voluptātibus inhaerent.
• He not only had a hand in all matters, but took the lead in them: omnibus negōtiīs nōn interfuit sōlum sed praefuit.
• Arts yields to weather: tempestātī ars obsequitur.
• He will never yield to his foes: numquam inimīcīs succumbet.

Exceptions

There are plenty of compounds verbs that do not take the dative

• He will kill the women: fēminās interficiet!
• He calls together his men: convocat suōs.
• She opposes us: nōs oppūgnat.

See also aggredior (to go against + acc.), adeō (to approach +acc. ), antecēdō or anteeō or antegredior or praecēdo (to go before–dat. or acc.), conveniō (to suit + dat. or to convene, gather + acc.), ineō (to enter +acc. ), obeō (to go against +acc), offendō (to offend, fail, find fault with, defect, hit upon (cf. τυγχάνω) +acc. ), and subeō (to enter, to steal upon (cf. λανθάνω) +acc.)

Other verbs will take a dative and accusative, according to their particular meaning

• We offer ourselves to dangers: nōs ipsōs offerimus perīculīs.

Compounds with satis, bene and male

• I never satisfy myself: mihi ipse numquam satisfaciō.
• He spoke ill of the excellent woman: optimae fēminae maledixit.
• It is a glorious thing to benefit the commonwealth: pulchrum est benefacere reī pūblicae.

The Essential AG: 368.2, 370a-b

Famous Phrase: quī tacet consentīre vidētur (who is silent, appears to approve)

[I can’t find the source for this–any ideas?]

dative_verbs_6