Ablative with Special Deponent Verbs: Latin Grammar

Learning

GrammarAblative with Special Deponent Verbs

Ablative with Special Deponent Verbs

A&G §410–411|3 rules|0 practice questions

Five deponent verbs translate as transitive English — "use, enjoy, perform, gain, feed on" — but in Latin they take the ablative, not the accusative: ūtor, fruor, fungor, potior, vescor.

Caesar writes aere ūtuntur — "they use bronze" — with aere in the ablative, even though English makes "bronze" feel like a direct object.

It's really an old ablative of means from the middle voice (ūtor = "I avail myself by means of"), but the origin has faded; what remains is a closed list to memorize.

Two impersonal idioms behave the same way: opus est and ūsus est ("there is need of") put the thing needed in the ablative — audāciā opus est, "there is need of boldness."

Learnings0 core · 1 AP claim

AP framework claims (1)— verbatim from AP CED

GRAM-2.SThere are special verbs that govern nouns in the dative (e.g., persuadeo, impero, propinquo, credo), ablative (e.g., potior, utor), or genitive (e.g., obliviscor, potior) cases. These nouns are often translated into English as the direct objects of these verbs.

Pattern

ūtor / fruor / fungor / potior / vescor + ablative

opus est / ūsus est + ablative

Five Deponents + Two Idioms = Ablative

These five deponent verbs (and the impersonal phrases for "there is need") take the ablative even though they translate as transitive English.

Potior also takes the genitive in the fixed phrase potīrī rērum — "to be master of affairs."

The Closed List — Verbs and Idioms That Take the Ablative

ūtor, ūtī, ūsus sum — to use, employ

aere ūtuntur — they use bronze (B. G. v. 12)

critical

fruor, fruī, frūctus sum — to enjoy

vītā fruimur — we enjoy life (Sall. Cat. 1)

critical

fungor, fungī, fūnctus sum — to perform, discharge

mūnere fungēbātur — he was performing the duty (B. G. vii. 25)

critical

potior, potīrī, potītus sum — to gain possession of

castrīs potītus — having seized the camp (B. G.)

critical

vescor, vescī — to feed on, eat

lacte vescuntur — they feed on milk (Sall. Iug. 89)

critical

opus est + abl. — there is need of

audāciā opus est — there is need of boldness (Sall. Cat. 58)

important

ūsus est + abl. — there is need of

cum ūsus est — when there is need (B. G. iv. 2)

important

Compounds of fungor (dēfungor, perfungor)

vītā dēfungitur — he dies (lit. "performs life through")

common

Compounds of fruor (perfruor)

rē pūblicā perfruī — to enjoy the state fully (Cic. Cat. iv. 11)

common

potior + GENITIVE (the exception)

potīrī rērum — to be master of affairs (fixed idiom)

important

See It In Action

aere ūtuntur importātō

they use imported bronze

— B. G. v. 12. 5

English "use" pulls toward an accusative object, but aere sits in the ablative — and the modifier importātō agrees with it in the ablative too. Trust the verb, not the translation.

magnō pecoris atque hominum numerō potitur

he gains possession of a great number of cattle and people

— B. G. vi. 6. 1

Potior normally takes the ablative — here Caesar's whole haul is in the ablative as one unit, with magnō numerō as the head and the genitives pecoris atque hominum hanging off it.

vīta ipsā quā fruimur

the very life which we enjoy

— Sall. Cat. 1. 3

Fruor governs the ablative, and the relative pronoun quā obeys: it takes ablative case from fruimur, not accusative as English "which we enjoy" might suggest.

audāciā opus est

there is need of boldness

— Sall. Cat. 58. 15

Opus est is impersonal and the thing needed lands in the ablative — audāciā, not audāciam. Add a dative for the person needing: nōbīs audāciā opus est would mean "we need boldness."

Deponent + Accusative vs. Deponent + Ablative

Most deponents are transitive and take the accusative — but these five are the famous exception that takes the ablative.

Deponent + Accusative (the rule)

Most deponents act like normal transitive verbs

hostēs sequitur

he follows the enemy (acc.)

Deponent + Ablative (the five)

ūtor, fruor, fungor, potior, vescor take ablative

gladiō ūtitur

he uses a sword (abl.)

Tip: Ask: is the verb one of the famous five (ūtor, fruor, fungor, potior, vescor)? If yes, the object goes in the ablative — even though English translation looks transitive.

Quick Check

Caesar writes castrīs hostium potītus. Why is castrīs in the ablative, not the accusative?

Study Tips

•Memorize the five-verb chant — ūtor, fruor, fungor, potior, vescor — as one unit. Every time you meet one of them, ask the ablative question first, not the accusative one.
•When you see opus est or ūsus est, the thing needed goes in the ablative. Mihi pecūniā opus est — "I need money" — has pecūniā in the ablative and mihi in the dative.
•Potior is the wobbly one — it usually takes the ablative, but the genitive shows up in the fixed phrase potīrī rērum ("to be master of affairs"). Don't fight that idiom; just learn it.

Learnings0 core · 1 AP claim

AP framework claims (1)— verbatim from AP CED

See It In Action

aere ūtuntur importātō

they use imported bronze

— B. G. v. 12. 5

English "use" pulls toward an accusative object, but aere sits in the ablative — and the modifier importātō agrees with it in the ablative too. Trust the verb, not the translation.

magnō pecoris atque hominum numerō potitur

he gains possession of a great number of cattle and people

— B. G. vi. 6. 1

Potior normally takes the ablative — here Caesar's whole haul is in the ablative as one unit, with magnō numerō as the head and the genitives pecoris atque hominum hanging off it.

vīta ipsā quā fruimur

the very life which we enjoy

— Sall. Cat. 1. 3

Fruor governs the ablative, and the relative pronoun quā obeys: it takes ablative case from fruimur, not accusative as English "which we enjoy" might suggest.

audāciā opus est

there is need of boldness

— Sall. Cat. 58. 15

Opus est is impersonal and the thing needed lands in the ablative — audāciā, not audāciam. Add a dative for the person needing: nōbīs audāciā opus est would mean "we need boldness."

Study Tips

•Memorize the five-verb chant — ūtor, fruor, fungor, potior, vescor — as one unit. Every time you meet one of them, ask the ablative question first, not the accusative one.

•When you see opus est or ūsus est, the thing needed goes in the ablative. Mihi pecūniā opus est — "I need money" — has pecūniā in the ablative and mihi in the dative.

•Potior is the wobbly one — it usually takes the ablative, but the genitive shows up in the fixed phrase potīrī rērum ("to be master of affairs"). Don't fight that idiom; just learn it.