Final Answer
The Ablative of Agent is a grammatical construction that needs a passive verb, the preposition AB (or A) which translates as “by,” and a person.
Explanation
The Ablative of Agent is an essential concept in Latin grammar that helps express the agent or doer of an action in a passive sentence. To understand this construction, we need to know about the three Ps: passive verb, preposition AB (or A), and person.
Passive Verb: The Ablative of Agent construction requires a passive verb. Passive verbs in Latin are formed by adding specific endings to the active verb, indicating that the subject of the sentence is being acted upon rather than performing the action. Some common passive verb endings are -r, -rī, -ris, and -unt for first, second, and third conjugations, respectively.
Preposition AB (or A): The preposition ‘AB’ (or ‘A’) is used to indicate an agent or doer in the passive sentence. It translates to “by” in English. The preposition can be used with either the ablative singular or plural forms of a noun, depending on the context.
Person: The Ablative of Agent construction requires a person, typically a noun or pronoun, to indicate the agent or doer of the action. This person can be the subject of the passive verb or an additional noun or pronoun that provides information about the agent. The noun or pronoun should be in the ablative case to agree with the preposition ‘AB’ (or ‘A’).
In summary, the Ablative of Agent is a Latin grammatical construction used to express the agent or doer of an action in a passive sentence. It requires a passive verb, the preposition AB (or A) which translates as “by,” and a person (noun or pronoun) in the ablative case.