3rd Declension Help

swimmykira7 · February 19, 2009, 2:43pm

I am a student and have a question about the 3rd declension.

I have learned the first two declensions with ease, but when I am translating sentences in the third declension, I can never tell the difference between the dative plural and ablative plural. If anyone has any tips on a way to tell the two apart, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for your help!

system · February 19, 2009, 3:33pm

I also have some trouble with telling the difference, but it is most helpful to translate the word in context. When you translate, usually either the dative or ablative will be the obvious answer. Remember that most ablatives have a preposition in front of them. Hope that helps you!