| ad | motion | to | ad senatum ambulare
to walk to the Senate |
| adversus | against | ||
| ante | position | in front of,
before |
carrum ante equum ponere
to put the cart before the horse |
| apud | position | at, among | |
| circiter | about | ||
| circum | around | milites circum transfugam stabant
the soldiers stood around the deserter |
|
| cis, citra | position | on this side of | |
| contra | against | contra condus pugnare
to fight with the shopkeepers |
|
| erga | motion | toward | |
| extra | position | outside | extra casam pugnaverunt
they fought outside the house |
| in | motion | into, onto, on | saxum in casam iacere
to throw the rock into the house |
| infra | position | below | |
| inter | position | between,
among |
inter amicos sto
I stand among friends |
| intra | position | within | |
| juxta | position | near | |
| ob | cause | because of | |
| per | motion | through | |
| post | position | behind, after | equum post carrum ponere
to put the horse after the cart |
| praeter | beyond, past | ||
| prope | position | near | |
| propter | cause | because of | post hoc ergo propter hoc
after it thus because of it (logical fallacy) |
| secundum | position | next to | |
| sub | motion | under | |
| super | position | over | |
| supra | position | above, over | pontis supra aquam territum
a bridge over fearful water |
| trans | motion | across | ventus trans flumen flat
the wind blows across the stream |
| versus | motion | toward | |
| ultra | beyond |
As Latin was losing its case system, prepositions started to move in to fill the void. In colloquial Latin, the preposition ad followed by the accusative was sometimes used as a substitute for the dative case.
Classical Latin: Iacobius geometrae librum donat James is giving the geometer the book.
Vulgar Latin: Iacobius librum ad geometrem donat James is giving the book to the geometer.
Modern French: Jacques donne le livre au géomètre James is giving the book to the geometer.
| a, ab, abs | agent | by | ab Aenea esus
eaten by Aeneas |
| time | since, after | a censu natus
born after the census |
|
| motion from | from | a domu veniens
coming from home |
|
| cause | from, out of | ab augerio territus
frightened by augury |
|
| cum | accompaniment | with | cum Marco edi
I ate with Mark |
| de | motion from | down from | de caelo descendere
to fall from the sky |
| subject | about, concerning |
liber de Caesare
a book about Caesar |
|
| e, ex | source | from, out of | de danista ex infernis affligi
to be injured by the money lender from hell |
| in | position | in, on | in saxo sto
I am standing on the rock |
| prae | position | before | cum prae Caesare Clintone steti, mihi ad Texam ablegavit
because I stood before President Clinton, he banished me to Texas |
| pro | position | in front of, for | pro vobis venio, ut post vos sto
I come before you to stand behind you |
| sine | accompaniment | without | amor sine spe
love without hope |
| sub | position | below, under | aqua sub ponte
water under the bridge |
Just as in the disappearing dative case, colloquial Latin sometimes replaced the disappearing genitive case with the preposition de followed by the ablative.
Classical Latin: Iacobius mihi librum geometrae donat. James is giving me the geometer's book.
Vulgar Latin: Iacobius mihi librum de geometre donat. James is giving me the book of (belonging to) the geometer.
Vulgar Latin: Iacobius librum de geometre ad me donat. James is giving the book of (belonging to) the geometer to me.
Modern French: Jacques me donne le livre du géomètre. James is giving me the book of (belonging to) the geometer.
Modern French: Jacques donne le livre du géomètre à moi. James is giving the book of (belonging to) the geometer to me.