Editing Umbrian language (section)

==== Case functions ====

===== Accusative and dative =====
The accusative, just as in Latin, was used as the [[Object (grammar)|direct object]] of [[Transitive verb|transitive verbs]] and with [[Adposition|prepositions]]. There is also evidence of the cognate accusative, a function in Latin in which accusative nouns were often the object of related verbs. In Umbrian, this appears in the sentence "{{Lang|xum|teio subocau suboco}}."{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=199}} The dative was used in both Latin and Umbrian to refer to the [[indirect object]] of [[Transitive verb|transitive verbs]], although it could also be the direct object of [[special verbs]]: the Umbrian verb "{{Lang|xum|'''kuraia'''}}" ("to care for") is used with the dative in the sentence "{{Lang|xum|'''ri esune kuraia'''}}" to express the meaning "to care for the divine thing," which in Latin would be expressed using the equivalent verb "{{Lang|xum|curo}}" with the accusative.{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=198}} Certain compound verbs appear to have taken the dative, a linguistic peculiarity also present in Latin: In the sentence "{{Lang|xum|prosesetir strusla fida arsueitu}}," the compound verb "{{Lang|xum|arsueitu}}" takes the dative. Dative forms could also function as the indirect object of nouns with verbal meanings: "{{Lang|xum|'''tikamne luvie'''}}," meaning "dedication for [[Jupiter (god)|Jupiter]]."{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=199}} Like Latin, the Umbrian dative could be paired with adjectives: "{{Lang|xum|'''futu fons pacer''' ... '''pople'''}}," meaning "It must be propitious ... for the people."{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=199}} The Umbrian dative could indicate the beneficiary or maleficiary of an action: this function, the dative of reference, appears in the sentence "{{Lang|xum|aserio . . . anglaf esona mehe, tote Iioueine}}" ("observe... divine omens for me, for the city of Iguvinum").{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=198}}

===== Genitive =====
Like Latin, the genitive case was utilized to communicate both partitive and objective relationships between nouns. The partitive genitive, in which the genitive communicates that the noun is a smaller component of the genitive noun, appears in Umbrian sentences such as "{{Lang|xum|'''mestru karu fratru'''}}," meaning "greater part '''of the [Arvales] brothers'''." However, unlike Latin, the partitive genitive in Umbrian may have also functioned as a [[Subject (grammar)|subject]] in certain circumstances, a grammatical property that appears in [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Avestan]], and—rarely—[[Greek language|Greek]]. This usage of the genitive is possibly attested in the sentence "," meaning "[whether] any '''of them''' are to be accepted." The genitive of possession, in which the genitive term is marked as the possessor, possibly appears in Umbrian sentences such as {{Lang|xum|popluper totar Iiouinar}}, translating to "for the people '''of the city of Iguvium'''." However, within this sentence, the genitive could either be functioning in its capacity as a partitive or possessive genitive. Likewise, the genitive of characteristic may appear in the sentence "{{Lang|xum|pisest totar Tarsinater}}," meaning "whoever is '''of the city of Tadinatus'''," although in this sentence the genitive may either be functioning as a genitive of characteristic or as a partitive genitive. The objective genitive, in which the genitive functions to communicate the object of nouns with verbal connotations, appears in Umbrian sentences such as "{{Lang|xum|'''katle tiçel'''}}," meaning "dedication '''of the sacrificial animal'''," and "{{Lang|xum|'''arsier frite'''}}," meaning "confidence in the '''holy one'''."{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=195}}

===== Ablative and locative =====
In contrast to Latin, in which the [[Locative case|locative]] was reduced to rare and limited functions, the Umbrian locative retained much broader and more widespread use.{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=199}} The Umbrian locative was used to signify the place something occurred; thus, Umbrian terms locatives such as {{Lang|xum|Acersoniem}}, meaning "at Acedonia," and "{{Lang|xum|tote Iouine}}," meaning "at [city of] Iguvium." Locative forms such as {{Lang|xum|fratrecate}} and {{Lang|xum|maronatei}}, both of which refer to the time frame in which a specific individual held a political office, attest to the existence of a locative of time, which would indicate the time something occurred.{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=200}} Ablative forms were also utilized to communicate locative meanings: Umbrian phrases such as "{{Lang|xum|tremnu serse}}" ("sitting in the tent") utilize the ablative to indicate the location where something occurred.{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=204}} The ablative, typically when accompanied by a preposition such as "{{Lang|xum|ehe}}" ("{{Lang|la|ex}};" "out of," "from") or a postpositive marker such as "{{Lang|xum|-'''ta'''}}" or "{{Lang|xum|-'''tu'''}}," could also indicate movement from a location: the terms term "{{Lang|xum|'''akrutu'''}}" ("from the field") and the sentence"{{Lang|xum|ehe esu poplu}}" ("from this people") both demonstrate this function of the ablative.{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=201}} Furthermore, the ablative in Umbrian could indicate the route through which movement had occurred: the sentence, "{{Lang|xum|uia auiecla etuto}}" ("go by the augural way"), exemplifies this usage."{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=202}} Ablative forms could communicate the time something occurred, as demonstrated in the phrase "{{Lang|xum|pesclu semu}}" ("in the middle of the prayer"). Both the ablative and locative appeared to be able to communicate the means by which in action occurred: the phrase "{{Lang|xum|mani tenitu}}" ("to hold in the hand") utilizes the ablative form "{{Lang|xum|mani}}" ("in the hand"), while the sentence "{{Lang|xum|'''manuve habitu'''}}" ("to hold in the hand") utilizes the locative form {{Lang|xum|'''manuve'''}} to communicate a similar meaning.{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=204}} 

The ablative could also communicate the attendant circumstances surrounding an action, as demonstrated by sentences such as "{{Lang|xum|'''eruhu tiçlu sestu luvepatre'''}}" ("present to Jupiter with the same dedication").{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=203}} More broadly, the Umbrian ablative could signify accompaniment; it could communicate that an action was occurring with or alongside something. Such a meaning appears in sentences such as "{{Lang|xum|com prinuatir stahitu}}" ("stand with the assistants"), which utilize the preposition "{{Lang|xum|com}}" ("{{Lang|la|cum}};" "with"). This preposition was dropped in scenarios where the notion of accompaniment could be substituted for the ablative of means or manner: "{{Lang|xum|'''apretu tures et pure'''}}" ("go about [preform the lustration] with the bulls and the fire").{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=202}} The preposition "{{Lang|xum|-co(m)}}" or "{{Lang|xum|-'''ku(m)'''}}," when used as a postpositive marker of an ablative term, communicated a locative meaning: "{{Lang|xum|'''asaku'''}}" ("at the altar") and "{{Lang|xum|termnuco}}" ("at the boundary").{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=203}} Another, more miscellaneous usage of the Umbrian ablative is the ablative of price, which marks the cost of something: "{{Lang|xum|'''muneklu habia numer prever pusti kastruvuf'''}}" ("shall receive a perquisite of one sesterce for each person").{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=201}} There is also limited attestation of an [[ablative absolute]] in Umbrian: "{{Lang|xum|'''aves anzeriates'''}}" ("when the birds have been observed").{{Sfn|Buck|1904|p=203}} The linguist Gary B. Holland suggests that it is possible this form merely constitutes a locative, as the locative plural is identical to the ablative plural in Umbrian.{{Sfn|Holland|1986|p=189}}