"Inter" used postpositively

Callaina

Feles Curiosissima

  • Civis Illustris

  • Patrona

Location:
Canada
I don't think I've ever seen inter following the word it modifies before, as I did just now in this passage from DBG IV:36:

...quinque cohortes frumentatum in proximas segetes mittit, quas inter et castra unus omnino collis intererat.
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
It's relatively common for disyllabic prepositions to be postpositive after a relative pronoun.

Edit: Lol, seek the unintentional pun.
 

Callaina

Feles Curiosissima

  • Civis Illustris

  • Patrona

Location:
Canada
Haha! Took me a moment. :D
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Most of those examples are of a different phenomenon. When the relative or interrogative qui, quae, quod is used adjectivally together with a noun and a preposition goes with the whole, the preposition is usually placed between the two words (quam ob causam, qua in re, quibus de causis, etc.)

In being postpositive after qui, quae, quod used as a pronoun alone without a noun isn't so usual, as far as I know, though it can happen, as in the first Plautus example there, if the reading is indeed correct (the cross indicates some doubt, I think?).

In my experience, postposition happens mostly (though not exclusively) with disyllabic prepositions and mostly (though not exclusivley) in relative clauses.
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
Of course, one monosyllabic preposition that's often postposed after not only relative but also personal pronouns is cum, as the current participants in this thread probably know, which is even written as one word with the pronoun then (quicum, quibuscum, mecum, etc.).
 

Callaina

Feles Curiosissima

  • Civis Illustris

  • Patrona

Location:
Canada
which is even written as one word with the pronoun then (quicum, quibuscum, mecum, etc.).
Come to think of it, since the Romans didn't generally use spacing between words, how can we tell?
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
I don't know when and why it was decided that those should be written as one word and that other prepositional phrases shouldn't. A preposition and the word following or, as the case may be, preceding it always make up one word prosodically, anyway (or at least I think that's the prevalent theory...), so, at first sight, there's no reason why one should decide to write them sometimes as two words and sometimes as one while there is no difference. Now maybe in the case of postponed cum, it happened because people came to feel mecum etc. as really one word, the unusual order causing them to forget this cum was the preposition. Basically the same confusion that led to the monstrous Spanish conmigo etc. = cum mecum etc. :/
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
A preposition and the word following or, as the case may be, preceding it always make up one word prosodically, anyway (or at least I think that's the prevalent theory...)
In fact, I'm only assuming that it's one prosodic word also when the preposition is postponed. I'm extrapolating the rule I've read concerning "regular" prepositional phrases.
 
Top