1. Small islands are classed with towns because they generally have but one town, and the name of the town is the same as the name of the island.
[267.] The Locative Case. We saw above that the place-relation expressed by at or in is regularly covered by the locative ablative. However, Latin originally expressed this relation by a separate form known as the locative case. This case has been everywhere merged in the ablative excepting in the singular number of the first and second declensions. The form of the locative in these declensions is like the genitive singular, and its use is limited to names of towns and small islands, domī, at home, and a few other words.
[268.] Rule. Locative and Locative Ablative. To express the place in which with names of towns and small islands, if they are singular and of the first or second declension, use the locative; otherwise use the locative ablative without a preposition; as,
| Galba Rōmae habitat, Galba lives at Rome Galba Corinthī habitat, Galba lives at Corinth Galba domī habitat, Galba lives at home |
Here Rōmae, Corinthī, and domī are locatives, being singular and of the first and second declensions respectively. But in
| Galba Athēnīs habitat, Galba lives at Athens, Galba Pompēiīs habitat, Galba lives at Pompeii |
Athēnīs and Pompēiīs are locative ablatives. These words can have no locative case, as the nominatives Athēnae and Pompēiī are plural and there is no plural locative case form.
[269.] The word domus, home, house, has forms of both the second and the fourth declension. Learn its declension ([§ 468]).
[270.] EXERCISES
First learn the [special vocabulary], p. 293.