>Thanks, Rett & Yong Peng, I appreciate the help.
>I'm still a bit confused, though. Please bear with me.
>
>>From what you wrote, Rett, I got the impression that the ablative
>adverbally modifies the sentence's subject, rather than its object.
>Hence in this case
>(The uncle, with his friends, sees recluses from the mountains =
>Maatulo mittehi saha pabbatehi sama.ne passati.)
>it would be the uncle who is from the mountain, not the recluses.
>
>On the other hand, in de Silva's primer, the lesson introducing the
>ablative suggests that the *object* is modified. Here's an example
>sentence:
> - Yaacako naramhaa bhatta.m yaacati.
> - The beggar asks for rice from the man.
>Clearly here it is the rice (object) that is from-the-man, not the
>beggar (subject).
>
>So, which is it - does the ablative modify subject or object?

It's neither. In both cases the ablative modifies the _verb_. That's
the point of calling it adverbial.

The beggar asks (from the man) for rice.

The unlce sees (from the mountains) the monks.