A Man of Great Courage

Level 5

The noun for the quality needs an adjective, and goes in the genitive or ablative.

How It Works

Case	Example	Meaning
genitive	vir magnae virtutis	a man of great courage
genitive	homines bonae voluntatis	people of good will
ablative	puella pulchra facie	a girl with a beautiful face
ablative	senex longa barba	an old man with a long beard

Both cases need an adjective. The adjective and the noun for the quality are in the same case: magnae virtutis are both genitive, and pulchra facie are both ablative.

The Gloria uses the genitive: pax hominibus bonae voluntatis, peace to people of good will.

English has many ways to say this: of great courage, with a beautiful face, whose face is beautiful. Latin uses one pattern for all of them: a noun for the quality with an adjective, in the genitive or the ablative.

Examples (5)

Marcus est vir magnae virtutis.
Marcus is a man of great courage.
Magnae virtutis is a genitive of description.
Iulia est puella pulchra facie.
Iulia is a girl with a beautiful face.
Pulchra facie is an ablative of description.
Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
And on earth peace to people of good will.
From the Gloria. Bonae voluntatis is a genitive of description.
Cicero erat vir magni ingenii.
Cicero was a man of great talent.
Magni ingenii is a genitive of description.
Senex longa barba in ecclesia sedet.
An old man with a long beard is sitting in the church.
Longa barba is an ablative of description for a part of the body.

Common Mistakes

Mixing the cases of the describing words.
Marcus est vir magnae virtute.
Marcus est vir magnae virtutis.
The adjective and the noun for the quality must be in the same case. Magnae virtutis are both genitive, and magna virtute would be both ablative.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

A Man of Great CourageLevel 5

Learn This First

A trait can be described with the genitive or the ablative, so the ablative with an adjective comes first.

How Something Is Done: cum cura
Know the ablative of manner, because an adjective with a noun in the ablative describes in the same way: magna cura, pulchra facie.
Level 3

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