Part 28

[Erratum: 1120 ... #ōra manūsque tuā lavimus, Fērōnia, lymphā#, final , missing]

THE ACCUSATIVE.

1124. The accusative is used primarily with verbs, or with expressions equivalent to verbs. The relations expressed by the accusative are all of one general kind; but they vary somewhat, according to the nature of the verb.

1125. I. With most verbs, the accusative either (_a._) denotes that which is affected or apprehended, or is produced by the action of the verb (1132); or, less frequently (_b._) it repeats the meaning of the verb in the form of a substantive (1140).

Such accusatives, called accusatives of the _Object_, are never attended by a preposition, and become nominative in the passive construction.

1126. II. With some verbs, the accusative denotes (_a._) extent or duration (1151); with others it denotes (_b._) aim of motion (1157).

Both these accusatives sometimes have their places taken by a prepositional expression, or by an adverb; in the passive construction, they are not convertible into a nominative, but remain accusative.

1127. Two or even three accusatives are sometimes used with one and the same verb: see 1167-1174.

1128. The accusative is sometimes disengaged from the verb, with which it originally stood, and used with a noun or a preposition.

1129. (1.) With substantives, the accusative is rare; it is used (_a._) in a few attributive expressions, chiefly old set forms, and rarely to denote (_b._) aim of motion.

Thus (_a._) the predicative #id aetātis#, in #id aetātis iam sumus#, _we are now of that age_, becomes attributive in #hominēs id aetātis#, _people of that age_. And (_b._) as #domum#, _home_, is used with the verb #redeō#, _go back_, so also rarely with the substantive #reditiō#, _a return_.

1130. With adjectives, the accusative is commonly that of extent: so with #altus#, _high_, #lātus#, _wide_, and #longus#, _long_, sometimes with #crassus#, _thick_.

Thus, in #eōs surculōs facitō sint longī pedēs bīnōs#, _see that the scions be two feet long_, the accusative #pedēs#, which belongs with the predicate #sint longī#, may be used with the attributive adjective #longus# alone, thus: #surculī longī pedēs bīnōs#, _scions two feet long_.

1131. (2.) The accusative is used with many prepositions: see 1410.

[Erratum: 1130 ... and #longus#, _long_ #longus#.]

I. THE ACCUSATIVE OF THE OBJECT.

1132. The object of a verb is put in the accusative: as,

(_a._) #oppida sua omnia incendunt#, 1, 5, 3, _they set all their towns afire_. #cōnspexit adrāsum quendam#, H. _E._ 1, 7, 49, _he spied a man all shaven and shorn_. (_b._) #duās fossās perdūxit#, 7, 72, 3, _he made two trenches_. This accusative, is, as may be seen above, either (_a._) receptive, i.e. existing independently of the action of the verb, and only affected or apprehended by it; or (_b._) of product, i.e. produced by the action of the verb.

1133. Verbs thus used with an object are said to be _used transitively_. Such verbs may also be used intransitively, that is without an object, when stress is put on the action merely: thus,

(_a._) Transitively: #tū mē amās, ego tē amō#, Pl. _Most._ 305, _thou lovest me, and I love thee_. #nova dīruunt, alia aedificant#, S. _C._ 20, 12, _they pull down new structures, and build up others_. (_b._) Intransitively: #amō#, Pl. _B._ 511, _I’m in love_. #dīruit, aedificat#, H. _E._ 1, 1, 100, _it pulleth down, it buildeth up_.

1134. Some verbs, in addition to the accusative, often take an infinitive also: thus, #eum vident sedēre#, _V._ 5, 107, _they see him sit, they see that he is sitting_. Here the accusative #eum#, originally the object, _they see him_, becomes at the same time the subject of the new statement appended, #sedēre#, _sit_, thus giving rise to the construction known as the _accusative with the infinitive_.

1135. Instead of the proper accusative of the object, another accusative is sometimes substituted, denoting the ultimate result: as,

#rūpēre viam#, L. 2, 50, 10, _they broke a path_, i.e. _they broke_ through the obstacles, and so made _a path_. #foedusque ferī#, E. 33, _and strike a covenant_, i.e. _strike_ a victim, and so make _a covenant_.

1136. In Plautus, #quid tibī̆# with a substantive of action in #-tiō# and #est#, has an accusative like a verb used transitively: as, #quid tibī̆ hanc cūrātiōst rem?# Pl. _Am._ 519, _what business hast thou with this?_

1137. Many verbs ordinarily used intransitively, particularly verbs of motion, have a transitive use when compounded with a preposition.

Such prepositions are, #ad#, #circum#, #ex#, #in#, #ob#, #per#, #prae#, #praeter#, #trāns#, and some others: as, #plūrēs paucōs circumsistēbant#, 4, 26, 2, _a good many took their stand round a few_. #Caesar omnem agrum Pīcēnum percurrit#, Caes. _C._ 1, 15, 1, _Caesar runs over the whole Picene territory_. #praeterīre nēmō pristrīnum potest#, Pl. _Cap._ 808, _no man can pass the mill_. #flūmen trānsiērunt#, 4, 4, 7, _they crossed the river_.

1138. A few verbs with a transitive use, have, when compounded with #circum# and #trāns#, besides the accusative of the object, a second accusative of the thing to which the preposition refers: as, #istum circumdūce hāsce aedīs#, Pl. _Most._ 843, _take that man round this house_. #Caesar funditōrēs pontem trādūcit#, 2, 10, 1, _Caesar takes the slingers over the bridge_. #trānsfer līmen aureolōs pedēs#, Cat. 61, 166, _over the threshold put thy little golden foot_. In the passive, the accusative connected with the preposition is sometimes retained: as, #Apollōniam praetervehuntur#, Caes. _C._ 3, 26, 1, _they sail by Apollonia_.

1139. Verbs of weeping and wailing, and some other verbs of feeling, which commonly have an intransitive use, sometimes have a transitive use with an accusative: as,

(_a._) #lūget senātus, maeret equester ōrdō#, _Mil._ 20, _the senate is in mourning, the equestrian order betrays its sadness_. (_b._) #mātrōnae eum lūxērunt#, L. 2, 7, 4, _the married women wore mourning for him_. #maereō cāsum eius modī#, _Fam._ 14, 2, 2, _I cannot help showing my grief over a misfortune of such a kind_. #quid mortem congemis ac flēs#, Lucr. 3, 934, _why dost thou death bewail and weep?_ Such verbs are #fleō#, _weep_, #gemō#, _wail_, #lāmentor#, #queror#, _bewail_, #doleō#, _am distressed_, #lūgeō#, _mourn_, #maereō#, _betray sadness_. Similarly, #horreō#, _shudder_, #reformīdō#, _am in dread_, #fastīdiō#, _feel disdain_, #rīdeō#, _laugh_, &c., &c. The object is oftener a thing than a person, and passive constructions are rare, and mostly confined to poetry.

[Errata: 1135 ... _they broke a path_, i.e. _they broke_ through the obstacles, and so made _a path_. #foedusque ferī#, E. 33, _and strike a covenant_, i.e. _punctuation as printed:_ they broke a path_, i.e _they broke_ through the obstacles. and so made _a path_. #foedusque ferī#, E. 33, _and strike a covenant_, i.e]

THE EMPHASIZING OR DEFINING ACCUSATIVE.

1140. The meaning of a verb, even of one ordinarily intransitive, may be emphasized or more exactly defined by an accusative of kindred derivation added.

(_a._) Seldom without an adjective: as, #dum vītam vīvās#, Pl. _Per._ 494, _as long as life thou liv’st_, i.e. as long as you ever live and breathe. #quōrum maiōrum nēmō servitūtem servīvit#, _T._ 29, _of whose ancestors not one has served servitude_, i.e. been a regular slave. #vidē nē facinus faciās#, _Fin._ 2, 95, _mind you don’t do a deed_, i.e. a misdeed. (_b._) Commonly with an adjective: as, #scelestam servitūtem serviunt#, Pl. _Cu._ 40, _a wicked servitude they serve_. #facinus memorābile fēcistis#, L. 24, 22, 16, _you have done a deed well worth mentioning_. #mīrum atque īnscītum somniāvī somnium#, Pl. _R._ 597, _a strange and silly dream dreamed I_.

1141. The verb sometimes has an accusative of kindred meaning, but of different derivation: as,

#ut vīvās aetātem miser#, Pl. _Am._ 1023, _that thou mayst live thy days in woe_. #nōn pugnāvit ingēns Īdomeneus Sthenelusve sōlus dīcenda Mūsīs proelia#, H. 4, 9, 19, _not towering Idomeneus nor Sthenelus alone has battles fought for Muses to rehearse_.

1142. The neuter singular accusative of a descriptive adjective is used, particularly by the poets, to denote manner: as,

#magnum clāmat#, Pl. _MG._ 823, _he’s bellowing big_. #suāve locus vōcī resonat conclūsus#, H. _S._ 1, 4, 76, _sweet to the voice the pent-up place rings back_. #suāve rubēns hyacinthus#, V. _E._ 3, 63, _sweet-blushing hyacinth_. #cūr tam cernis acūtum?# H. _S._ 1, 3, 26, _why dost thou see so sharp?_ The plural is not so common: as, #asper, acerba tuēns#, Lucr. 5, 33, V. 9, 794, _rough, staring savageness_.

1143. Some verbs of smell and of taste have an accusative defining what the smell or the taste is: as, #pāstillōs Rūfillus olet, Gargōnius hīrcum#, H. _S._ 1, 2, 27, _of lozenges Rufillus smells, Gargonius of the goat_. #doctrīnam redolet puerīlem#, _DO._ 2, 109, _it smacks of A B C studies_. #nōn omnēs possunt olere unguenta exōtica#, Pl. _Most._ 42, _not every man can of imported ointments reek_. #meliōra unguenta sunt quae terram quam quae crocum sapiunt#, Cic. in Plin. _NH._ 17, 5, 3, 38, _essences that smell of earth are better than those that smell of saffron_.

1144. Any verb or verbal expression may be defined in a general way by the neuter accusative of a pronoun or of an enumerative word: as,

#id gaudeō#, T. _Andr._ 362, _I’m glad of that_. #id maestast#, Pl. _R._ 397, _she’s mournful over this_. #id prōdeō#, T. _Eu._ 1005, _I’m coming out for this_. #cētera adsentior Crassō#, _DO._ 1, 35, _on all the other points I agree with Crassus_. So also #quod#, _for which_, _on account of which_, #aliquid#, #quicquam#, #nihil#, &c., &c., and particularly #quid#, _why_, _in what respect_, _wherein_, _what_, or _what ... for_: as, #quid vēnistī#, Pl. _Am._ 377, _why art thou come?_ #quid tibī̆ obstō#, _RA._ 145, _wherein do I stand in your way?_

1145. The accusative of an appellative is rarely used adverbially: as, #magnam partem ex iambīs nostra cōnstat ōrātiō#, _O._ 189, _our own speech is made up a great deal of iambs_. #maximam partem lacte vīvunt#, 4, 1, 8, _they live on milk the most part_, i.e. _chiefly_. Prepositional expressions are commoner: as, #magnā ex parte#, 1, 16, 6, _principally_. For #vicem#, _instead of_, _for_, or _like_, see the dictionary.

1146. The accusative is sometimes disengaged from a verb, and qualifies a substantive as an attribute, chiefly in a few set expressions (1129): as, #ōrātiōnēs aut aliquid id genus#, _Att._ 13, 12, 3, _speeches or something that kind_. #aucupium omne genus#, Cat. 114, 3, _fowling of every kind_. #nūgās hoc genus#, H. _S._ 2, 6, 43, _small talk--this kind_. #hoc genus in rēbus#, Lucr. 6, 917, _in matters of this kind_. #cum id aetātis fīliō#, _Clu._ 141, _with a son of that age_. Similarly #diēs quīndecim supplicātiō#, 2, 35, 4, _a fortnight thanksgiving_.

[Erratum: 1144 ... So also #quod#, _for which_, _for which_.]

THE ACCUSATIVE OF THE PART CONCERNED.

1147. Poets use the accusative to express the part concerned, especially a part of the human body: as,

#tremit artūs#, Lucr. 3, 489, V. _G._ 3, 84, _he shivers in his limbs_. #tremis ossa pavōre#, H. _S._ 2, 7, 57, _thou tremblest in thy bones with fear_. #viridī membra sub arbutō strātus#, H. 1, 1, 21, _stretching--his limbs--beneath an arbute green_. #ōs umerōsque deō similis#, V. 1, 589, _in face and shoulders like a god_.

THE ACCUSATIVE OF THE THING PUT ON.

1148. The accusative is used with reflexive verbs in poetry to denote the thing put on: as,

#comantem Androgeī galeam induitur#, V. 2, 391, _Androgeus’ high-haired helm he dons_. #exuviās indūtus Achillī#, V. 2, 275, _clad in Achilles’ spoils_. Rarely to denote the thing taken off: as, #priōrēs exuitur vultūs#, St. _Th._ 10, 640, _she doffs her former looks_.

THE ACCUSATIVE OF EXCLAMATION.

1149. The accusative is used in exclamations, sometimes merely to call attention to something, but generally with a predicate to express a judgment with emphasis.

(_a._) In calling attention, #ecce# or #em# is used in old Latin: as, #ecce mē#, Pl. _MG._ 663, _behold, your humble servant_. #em Dāvom tibī̆#, T. _Andr._ 842, _there, Davos sir_. For #ellum#, #eccillum#, &c., see 667 and 673. Also, from Cicero on, #ēn#: as, #ēn quattuor ārās#, V. _E._ 5, 65, _see, altars four_. (_b._) In emphatic judgments sometimes the accusative alone: as, #fortūnātum Nīcobūlum#, Pl. _B._ 455, _lucky man that Nicobulus_. #testīs ēgregiōs#, _Cael._ 63, _mighty fine witnesses_; sometimes with an interjection: as, #ō imperātōrem probum#, Pl. _B._ 759, _oh what a good commander_; rarely so with #ēcastor#, #edepol#, #eugē#, _bravo_, #heu#, #īlicet#, _all’s up_, #ē̆heu#. Interrogatively: #hancine impudentiam?# V. 5, 62, _possible, shamelessness like this?_

1150. The accusative is used in excited orders, appeals, and questions, without any verb expressed, or even distinctly felt: as, #Tiberium in Tiberim#, Suet. _Tib._ 75, _Tiberius to the Tiber_. #dī vostram fidem#, T. _Andr._ 716, _ye gods your help_. #prō fidem, Thēbānī cīvēs#, Pl. _Am._ 376, _oh help_, or _murder, ye citizens of Thebes_. So with #unde#, #quō#, and #quandō#, often followed by #mihī̆# or #tibī̆#: as, #quō mihi fortūnam, sī nōn concēditur ūtī?# H. _E._ 1, 5, 12, _why wealth for me, if wealth I may not use?_

II. THE ACCUSATIVE OF SPACE AND TIME, AND OF AIM OF MOTION.

THE ACCUSATIVE OF SPACE AND TIME.

1151. Extent of space or duration of time is denoted by the accusative: as,

(_a._) #mīlia passuum XX prōcēdit#, 5, 47, 1, _he pushes on twenty miles_. #trīduī viam prōgressī#, 4, 4, 4, _having advanced three days journey_. #aggerem lātum pedēs CCCXXX, altum pedēs LXXX exstrūxērunt#, 7, 24, 1, _they built up a mound three hundred and thirty feet wide, and eighty feet high_ (1130). (_b._) #mātrōnae annum lūxērunt#, L. 2, 7, 4, _the married women wore mourning a year_. #ūndēvīgintī annōs nātus erat#, _Br._ 229, _he was nineteen years old_. #secūtae sunt continuōs complūrēs diēs tempestātēs#, 4, 34, 4, _there followed a good many days a succession of storms_. #triennium vagātī#, 4, 4, 2, _having led a nomad life three years_. #ūnum diem supplicātiō habita est#, L. 10, 47, 7, _a thanksgiving was held one day_. #diēs quīndecim supplicātiō#, 2, 35, 4, _a fortnight thanksgiving_ (1129). Sometimes #per# is added: as, #lūdī per decem diēs factī sunt#, _C._ 3, 20, _games were celebrated ten days long_.

1152. The idea of traversing is sometimes not expressed: as, #mīlia passuum tria ab eōrum castrīs castra pōnit#, 1, 22, 5, _he pitches camp three miles away from their camp_. #quadringentōs inde passūs cōnstituit sīgna#, L. 34, 20, 4, _four hundred paces from there he set up the standards_. See 1399.

1153. With #absum# and #distō#, the ablative of amount of difference is sometimes used (1393): as, #certior factus est Ariovistī cōpiās ā nostrīs mīlibus passuum quattuor et XX abesse#, 1, 41, 5, _he was informed that Ariovistus’s troops were four and twenty miles away from ours_. If the place is not mentioned from which distance is reckoned, #ab# or #ā# is sometimes used before the expression of distance: as, #positīs castrīs ā mīlibus passuum XV#, 6, 7, 3, _pitching camp fifteen miles away_.

1154. The accusative is used with #abhinc#, _ago_: as, #quaestor fuistī abhinc annōs quattuordecim#, _V._ 1, 34, _you were a quaestor fourteen years ago_. Rarely the ablative (1393): as, #quō tempore? abhinc annīs XV#, _RC._ 37, _when? fifteen years ago_; and once or twice with #abhinc#, meaning _before_ (1393): as, #comitiīs abhinc diēbus trīgintā factīs#, _V._ 2, 130, _the election having been held thirty days before_.

1155. The accusative singular is used with ordinals, to show the number of days, months, or years since a particular event, including the day, month, or year of the event itself: as, #quod annum iam tertium et vīcēsimum rēgnat#, _IP._ 7, _the circumstance that he has now been on the throne two and twenty years_.

1156. The accusative in some pronominal expressions and adverbs passes over from ‘time through which’ to a loose ‘time at which’: as, #id temporis#, _RA._ 97, _at that time_. #hoc noctis#, Pl. _Am._ 163^b, _at this time of night_. #tum#, _then_, #num#, #nunc#, _now_, #nunc ipsum#, Pl. _B._ 940, _Att._ 10, 4, 10, _this very minute_, #commodum#, _just in time_. For the locative ablative exceptionally used to denote duration, see 1355.

[Errata: 1151a ... 4, 34, 4 4, 34. 4 1154 ... _RC._ 37 _RC,_]

THE ACCUSATIVE OF THE AIM OF MOTION.

1157. (1.) Proper names of towns and of little islands or peninsulas are put in the accusative to denote the aim with expressions of motion: as,

#Labiēnus Lutetiam proficīscitur#, 7, 57, 1, _Labienus starts for Lutetia_. #Leucadem vēnimus#, _Fam._ 16, 9, 1, _we came to Leucas_. #nocturnus introitus Zmyrnam#, _Ph._ 11, 5, _the entrance into Smyrna by night_ (1129). Plautus uses #Accherūns# a few times like a town name: as, #vīvom mē accersunt Accheruntem mortuī#, _Most._ 509, _the dead are taking me to Acheron alive_.

1158. With singular names of towns and little islands, Plautus has the accusative alone twenty times, and twenty times with #in#; Terence has, including #Lēmnum#, _Ph._ 567, and #Cyprum#, _Ad._ 224, 230, the accusative alone six times, and twice with #in#, #in Lēmnum#, _Ph._ 66, and #in Cyprum#, _Ad._ 278. Plural town names never have #in#.

1159. An appellative #urbem# or #oppidum# accompanying the accusative of a town name is usually preceded by #in# or #ad#: as, #ad urbem Fī̆dēnās tendunt#, L. 4, 33, 10, _they make for the city of Fidenae_. #Iugurtha Thalam pervēnit, in oppidum magnum#, S. _I._ 75, 1, _Jugurtha arrived at Thala, a large town_.

1160. When merely ‘motion towards’ or ‘nearness’ is meant, #ad# is used: as, #trēs viae sunt ad Mutinam#, _Ph._ 12, 22, _there are three roads to Mutina_. #mīles ad Capuam profectus sum#, _CM._ 10, _I went to the war as a private, to the region round about Capua_.

1161. Proper names of countries are also sometimes put in the accusative in poetry, to denote aim of motion: as, #abiīt Ālidem#, Pl. _Cap._ 573, _he went away to Elis_. So in prose also, #Aegyptus# in Cicero, Caesar, Nepos, Livy, and Tacitus: as, #Germānicus Aegyptum proficīscitur#, Ta. 2, 59, _Germanicus sets out for Egypt_. Rarely and in poetry names of peoples: as, #sitientīs ībimus Āfrōs#, V. _E._ 1, 64, _to thirst-parched Afrians we shall go_. In general the accusative of country names is preceded by #in# or #ad#, as are also appellatives regularly in prose; but in poetry, even appellatives without a preposition are common.

1162. (2.) The accusatives #domum#, #rūs#, and #forās#, are used like proper names of towns: as,

(_a._) #eō domum#, Pl. _Mer._ 659, _I’m going home_. #equitēs domum contendērunt#, 2, 24, 4, _the cavalry hurried home_. #domum reditiōnis spē sublātā#, 1, 5, 3, _the hope of a return home being out of the question_ (1129). (_b._) #rūs ībō#, T. _Eu._ 216, _I shall go out of town_. (_c._) #effūgī forās#, T. _Eu._ 945, _I ran out of doors_.

1163. The singular #domum# is always retained by Caesar, even when two or more separate persons or parties are spoken of. Plautus, Sallust, and Nepos, have the plural #domōs# once each, and Cicero and Livy use it occasionally.

1164. The accusative #domum# or #domōs# sometimes has an attribute, usually a possessive pronoun: as, #domum suam quemque revertī#, 2, 10, 4, _for every man to go back to his home_. #alius alium domōs suās invītant#, S. _I._ 66, 3, _they invite each other to their homes_. #aurum domum rēgiam comportant#, S. _I._ 76, 6, _they bring all the gold to the house royal_. #cum domum rēgis dēvertissēs#, _D._ 17, _when you went to stay at the king’s palace_. The preposition #in# is sometimes used when the attribute is a genitive or a possessive pronoun, and commonly when it is any adjective but a possessive pronoun.

1165. (3.) In old Latin, #exsequiās# and #īnfitiās# are also used with #eō#, and sometimes #malam crucem# and #malam rem#, though these last more commonly have #in#: as,

#exsequiās Chremētī īre#, T. _Ph._ 1026, _to go to Chremes’s funeral_. #ut eās malam crucem#, Pl. _Men._ 328, _that thou mayst get thee to the accursed cross_. Later writers, as Nepos, Livy, and Quintilian, use #īnfitiās eō# again, and, from Sallust on, #vēnum eō# and #vēnum dō# sometimes occur for #vēneō# and #vēndō#.

1166. With the accusative in #-tum# (or #-sum#), called the supine, the idea of ‘aim’ passes over into that of ‘purpose:’ as #mīlitātum abiīt#, T. _Hau._ 117, _he’s gone away a soldiering_ (2270).

[Erratum: 1157 ... _the entrance into Smyrna by night_ (1129). final . missing]

TWO ACCUSATIVES COMBINED.

OBJECT AND PREDICATE.

1167. Many verbs may take two accusatives, an object and a predicate.

Such are verbs signifying _make_, _keep_, _choose_, _name_ or _call_, _have_, _think_, _recognize_ or _find_, _show oneself_, &c., &c.: as, #longiōrem mēnsem faciunt#, _V._ 2, 129, _they make the month longer_. #eum certiōrem faciunt#, 5, 37, 7, _they let him know_. #Ancum Mārcium rēgem populus creāvit#, L. 1, 32, 1, _the people made Ancus Marcius king_. #mē cēpēre arbitrum#, T. _Hau._ 500, _they’ve chosen me as referee_. #Duellium ‘Bellium’ nōmināvērunt#, _O._ 153, _Duellius they named ‘Bellius.’_ #vīcīnam Capreīs insulam ‘Aprāgopolim’ appellābat#, Suet. _Aug._ 98, _the island next to Capreae he called ‘the Castle of Indolence.’_ #conlēgās adiūtōrēs habēbat#, _Sest._ 87, _he had his colleagues as assistants_. #tē sapientem exīstimant#, _L._ 6, _they consider you a sage_. #quem virum P. Crassum vīdimus#, _CM._ 61, _what a man we saw in Crassus_. #sevērum mē praebeō#, _C._ 4, 12, _I show myself stern_. In the passive both the object and the predicate become nominatives: as, #Caesar certior factus est#, 3, 19, 5, _Caesar was informed_.

1168. In the sense of _consider as equivalent to_, #dūcō# and #habeō#, less frequently #putō#, have the ablative with #prō#. Other constructions with these and the above verbs may be found in the dictionary.

PERSON AND THING.

1169. (1.) Some verbs of teaching and hiding, demanding and questioning, may take two accusatives, one of a person and one of a thing.

The commonest of these verbs are #doceō# and its compounds, and #cēlō#; #flāgitō#, #ōrō#, #poscō#, and #rogō#, #interrogō#. The thing is usually the neuter of a pronoun or enumerative word (1144): as, (_a._) #peior magister tē istaec docuit, nōn ego#, Pl. _B._ 163, _a worse instructor taught thee that, not I_. #quid tē litterās doceam?# _Pis._ 73, _why should I teach you your A B C’s?_ (_b._) #nōn tē cēlāvī sermōnem T. Ampiī#, _Fam._ 2, 16, 3, _I have not kept you in the dark about the talk with Ampius_. (_c._) #interim cōtīdiē Caesar Aeduōs frūmentum flāgitāre#, 1, 16, 1, _meantime Caesar every day a dunning the Aeduans for the grain_. #Mīlēsiōs nāvem poposcit#, _V._ 1, 86, _he called on the Miletus people for a vessel_. #quid me istud rogās?# _Fin._ 5, 83, _why do you ask me that?_ #Racilius mē sententiam rogāvit#, _QFr._ 2, 1, 3, _Racilius asked me my opinion_.

1170. With #doceō#, meaning _inform_, #cēlō#, #rogō#, and #interrogō#, the ablative of the thing with #dē# is also used. And with #flāgitō# and #poscō#, sometimes the ablative of the person with #ab#, with #cēlō# the ablative of the person with #dē#.

1171. In the passive the person becomes the subject, and the accusative of a neuter pronoun or adjective is retained: as,