Ablative Case w. Prepostitoin

Latin Learning Latin
1

The following, from Lingua Latina, reads,
“In Italia sunt multae villae cum magnis hortis.”
My questions, please:

  1. Why is ‘hortis’ in the ablative case? (It could also be in the dative case.)
  2. What is the direct object of this sentence?
    Thanks,
    dlb
    .
2

‘sum’ cannot take a direct object (it simply states existence or links two things as equivalent, think of it like an equal sign)

‘magnis hortis’ are governed by the preposition ‘cum’.

3

Thanks for the reply but I have a further question, if you don’t mind:
You wrote: ‘magnis hortis’ are governed by the preposition ‘cum’
Can you elaborate on where one might find the governing rules - a grammar, a text book, a web site?
Thanks,
dlb
.

4

Any decent Latin grammar or textbook should cover this information.
Allan & Greenough is I think the standard college reference grammar.
I think there’s also a supplement to Lingua Latina which explicitly explains the grammatical information.
Or you can google “Latin grammar,” I’m sure there are some good sites which provide an overview of the basics.