Towns Without a Preposition: Romam, Roma

Going to and Leaving Towns

Level 3

Use the accusative for to a town and the ablative for from a town.

How It Works

Question	Rome	Athens	home
where?	Romae	Athenis	domi
to where?	Romam	Athenas	domum
from where?	Roma	Athenis	domo

The accusative and the ablative are the ordinary cases for to and from. With a town they stand alone: Romam eo and Roma venio.

Countries and other places keep their prepositions: in Graeciam (into Greece) and ex Graecia (out of Greece).

Watch the plural names. Athenae has the accusative Athenas for to Athens and the ablative Athenis for from Athens.

The word rus (the country) works the same way: rus means to the country, and rure means from the country.

Romam eo.
I am going to Rome.
Romam is the accusative: to Rome, with no ad.
Roma venio.
I come from Rome.
Roma is the ablative: from Rome, with no ex.
Iulia Athenas it.
Iulia goes to Athens.
Athenas is the accusative plural of Athenae.
Marcus domo venit.
Marcus comes from home.
Domo is the ablative of domus.
Monachi Hierosolymam eunt.
The monks go to Jerusalem.
Hierosolymam is the accusative of the name of Jerusalem.

Using the dictionary form after a verb of going.
Iulia Athenae it.
Iulia Athenas it.
Athenae is the nominative plural. To say that Iulia goes to Athens, use the accusative plural Athenas.
Using domum for from home.
Marcus domum venit.
Marcus domo venit.
Domum is the accusative, so this sentence says that Marcus comes home. The intended meaning was: Marcus comes from home, which needs the ablative domo.

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

Towns Without a Preposition: Romam, RomaLevel 3Going to and Leaving Towns

The town forms answer quo and unde without ad or ex, so the place form and the movement questions come first.

Romadomus

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