By Whom: a Marco
A person who acts gets a or ab, and a tool gets the ablative alone.
How It Works
| Job | Latin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| a person who acts | a Marco | by Marcus |
| a person who acts | ab Aemilia | by Aemilia |
| a person who acts | ab angelis | by the angels |
| a thing used | stilo | with a pen |
Compare Liber a Marco scribitur (Marcus does the writing) with Liber stilo scribitur (the pen is the tool).
A is used before a consonant and ab before a vowel or h: a patre, ab Aemilia. The same ab also means from, as in ab urbe, so the verb shows which meaning you have.
This is the doer of a passive verb. An active sentence names the doer as the subject: Marcus librum scribit.
Examples (5)
- Liber a Marco scribitur.
The book is written by Marcus.
A Marco names the person who writes.
- Liber stilo scribitur.
The book is written with a pen.
Stilo is a tool, so it needs no preposition.
- Epistula ab Aemilia scripta est.
The letter was written by Aemilia.
Ab stands before the vowel A.
- Puer a patre et a matre amatur.
The boy is loved by his father and his mother.
Each doer has its own a.
- Deus ab angelis laudatur.
God is praised by the angels.
Ab stands before the vowel A of angelis.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out a for the person who acts.
Liber Marco scribitur.Liber a Marco scribitur.Marco alone looks like a dative, for Marcus, so this sentence says that the book is written for Marcus. The intended meaning was: the book is written by Marcus, which needs a Marco.
Using a for a tool.
Liber a stilo scribitur.Liber stilo scribitur.A pen is not a person who acts. A tool takes the ablative alone: stilo.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The doer of a passive verb is named with a or ab.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice By Whom: a Marco in Bubblegum
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