Accusative of Extent & Duration: Latin Grammar

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GrammarAccusative of Extent & Duration

Accusative of Extent & Duration

A&G §425–423|4 rules|0 practice questions

When Caesar says his camp sat mīlia passuum tria from the enemy, the bare accusative is doing all the work — no preposition, no helper word.

Latin uses the accusative to measure two things: how far across space something stretches (distance, height, depth, breadth) and how long across time something lasts (duration, age).

The trap is the time accusative looks like a direct object until you check the verb. Trēs annōs rēgnāvit doesn't mean "he ruled three years" — it answers "for how long." Once you see the answer-frame ("how far?" / "for how long?"), you'll spot it everywhere in the historians, especially next to numerals and measurement words.

Learnings0 core · 1 AP claim

AP framework claims (1)— verbatim from AP CED

GRAM-1.JThe accusative case can show how long something happens (e.g., multos annos: for many years).

Pattern

extent of spacenumeral + noun (acc.) — no preposition

duration of timenumeral + time-word (acc.) — no preposition

Accusative of Extent & Duration

"for X long" (time) or "X far / high / wide / deep" (space) — answering "how long?" or "how far?"

No preposition. The verb tells you it's duration, not direct object: trēs annōs rēgnāvit = "he reigned FOR three years," not "he reigned three years."

Twelve Patterns You'll Meet in Caesar

Distance from a point

mīlia passuum tria ab castrīs — three miles from camp

critical

Distance traversed

prōgressus mīlia passuum circiter duodecim — having advanced about twelve miles

critical

Length of a region

in longitūdinem mīlia passuum CCXL — 240 miles in length

common

Breadth

fossās quīndecim pedēs lātās — trenches fifteen feet broad

common

Height (acc. of extent)

decem pedēs altus — ten feet tall

common

Height (gen. of measure — A&G § 425. a)

vāllum duodecim pedum — a rampart of twelve feet

common

Depth of water

altitūdō pedum circiter trium — depth of about three feet

common

Tiny extent (idiomatic)

trānsversum unguem nōn discēdere — not to depart a nail's-breadth

rare

Duration in days

diēs continuōs trīgintā — for thirty days in a row

critical

Duration in years

complūrēs annōs — for many years

critical

Duration in months

multōs mēnsēs — for many months

common

Age (acc. + nātus)

decem annōs nātus — ten years old ("born ten years")

common

See It In Action

Eō diē quō cōnsuērat intervāllō hostēs sequitur et mīlia passuum tria ab eōrum castrīs castra pōnit.

On that day, at the usual interval, he follows the enemy and pitches his camp three miles from their camp.

— B. G. i. 22

Mīlia passuum tria is pure extent of space — the accusative measures the distance with no preposition. Notice castra nearby is also accusative, but as direct object of pōnit — the verb decides which is which.

Ex eō diē diēs continuōs V Caesar prō castrīs suās cōpiās prōdūxit et aciem īnstrūctam habuit.

From that day, for five days in a row Caesar led out his troops in front of the camp and kept the line drawn up.

— B. G. i. 48

Diēs continuōs V is duration — "for how long" Caesar led the troops out. Without a preposition, you have to read the verb to know this isn't "he led out five consecutive days" as objects.

...mūrum in altitūdinem pedum sēdecim fossamque perdūcit.

...he extends a wall sixteen feet in height, and a ditch.

— B. G. i. 8

Caesar measures the wall's height with a genitive (pedum sēdecim) plus in altitūdinem — the alternative to extent-accusative. Both A&G § 425 and § 425. a are alive in the same author.

Complūrēs annōs portōria reliquaque omnia Haeduōrum vectīgālia parvō pretiō redēmpta habēre.

[He says that] for many years he has held the tolls and all the other revenues of the Haedui at a low price.

— B. G. i. 18

Complūrēs annōs sits at the front of the clause, far from its verb — Latin word order doesn't bind the duration accusative tightly. Find it by meaning, not position.

Acc. Duration vs. Abl. Time-When vs. Abl. Time-Within

Three different cases handle three different time questions. Mixing them up is the single most common time-construction error.

Accusative — duration ("for how long")

the action LASTS this long

trēs annōs rēgnāvit

he reigned for three years

Ablative — time-when or time-within-which ("at what point / within what span")

the action happens AT a point or FITS INSIDE a span

tribus annīs rediit

he returned within three years

Tip: Ask: does the action FILL the time (acc.) or HAPPEN AT/INSIDE it (abl.)? Verbs of lasting/continuing want acc.; verbs of single-point or completion want abl.

Quick Check

In Ex eō diē diēs continuōs V Caesar prō castrīs suās cōpiās prōdūxit, what is the role of diēs continuōs V?

Study Tips

•When you see a bare accusative of number + time-word (annōs, diēs, noctēs, mēnsēs), translate "for X" before assuming it's a direct object.
•Drill the three time cases together: accusative for duration ("for how long"), ablative for time-when ("at what point"), ablative for time-within-which ("within what span"). They don't share endings but they share territory.
•Memorize mīlia passuum ("miles," lit. "thousands of paces") — Caesar uses it on almost every page, and it's your reliable signal that an extent-of-space accusative is in play.
•When Caesar gives a measurement (height, depth, breadth), watch for either accusative (pedēs duodecim altus) or genitive of measure (vāllum duodecim pedum) — both work, A&G § 425. a.

See It In Action

Eō diē quō cōnsuērat intervāllō hostēs sequitur et mīlia passuum tria ab eōrum castrīs castra pōnit.

On that day, at the usual interval, he follows the enemy and pitches his camp three miles from their camp.

— B. G. i. 22

Ex eō diē diēs continuōs V Caesar prō castrīs suās cōpiās prōdūxit et aciem īnstrūctam habuit.

From that day, for five days in a row Caesar led out his troops in front of the camp and kept the line drawn up.

— B. G. i. 48

Diēs continuōs V is duration — "for how long" Caesar led the troops out. Without a preposition, you have to read the verb to know this isn't "he led out five consecutive days" as objects.

...mūrum in altitūdinem pedum sēdecim fossamque perdūcit.

...he extends a wall sixteen feet in height, and a ditch.

— B. G. i. 8

Caesar measures the wall's height with a genitive (pedum sēdecim) plus in altitūdinem — the alternative to extent-accusative. Both A&G § 425 and § 425. a are alive in the same author.

Complūrēs annōs portōria reliquaque omnia Haeduōrum vectīgālia parvō pretiō redēmpta habēre.

[He says that] for many years he has held the tolls and all the other revenues of the Haedui at a low price.

— B. G. i. 18

Complūrēs annōs sits at the front of the clause, far from its verb — Latin word order doesn't bind the duration accusative tightly. Find it by meaning, not position.

Study Tips

•When you see a bare accusative of number + time-word (annōs, diēs, noctēs, mēnsēs), translate "for X" before assuming it's a direct object.

•Drill the three time cases together: accusative for duration ("for how long"), ablative for time-when ("at what point"), ablative for time-within-which ("within what span"). They don't share endings but they share territory.

•Memorize mīlia passuum ("miles," lit. "thousands of paces") — Caesar uses it on almost every page, and it's your reliable signal that an extent-of-space accusative is in play.

•When Caesar gives a measurement (height, depth, breadth), watch for either accusative (pedēs duodecim altus) or genitive of measure (vāllum duodecim pedum) — both work, A&G § 425. a.