Latin/Lesson 6-Pronouns

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Latin
Intro: 12
Chapter 1 123456
Chapter 2 12345678
Chapter 3 12345678
Chapter 4 12345678910
Chapter 5 123456789

Personal Pronouns in English[edit | edit source]

Lesson Vocabulary
Latin English
cibus food
laborat he/she works

Pronouns are nouns which are used instead of another noun ('pro', in place of 'noun', noun.)

There are three categories of pronouns which are divided up into persons: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. In addition, pronouns can be singular or plural. They are declined like all other nouns.

Person Singular Plural
1st I we
2nd you, thou you (all)
3rd he/she/it they

Personal Pronouns in Latin[edit | edit source]

1st/2nd Person Pronouns[edit | edit source]

Table of Personal Pronouns in all of their cases: I, thou, we, ye[edit | edit source]

Note: thou is the archaic singular of the archaic plural ye - useful for distinguishing you (singular) from you (plural)

Singular Plural
Case 1st Person 2nd Person 1st Person 2nd Person
Nominative ego I you nōs we vōs you
Genitive meī of me tuī of you nostrī(nostrum) of us vestrī (vestrum) of you
Dative mihi to me tibi to/for you nōbīs to us vōbīs to/for you
Accusative me you nōs us vōs you
Ablative from me from you nōbīs from us vōbīs from you

Nota Bene: the genitive is used in certain phrases like:

  1. memor nostrī, mindful of us
  2. paucī vestrum, a few of you.

For the possessive uses (my sister, your bicycle) sometimes uses the possessive adjectives:

Latin English
meus, mea, meum my
tuus, tua, tuum thy
suus, sua, suum his/hers, its, their
noster, nostra, nostrum our
vester, vestra, vestrum your
Pater noster Our father

3rd Person Pronouns[edit | edit source]

Technically, 3rd person pronouns do not exist in Latin as they do in English. However, they do have equivalents.

Adjectives modify nouns and take the gender of the noun which they modify. However, adjectives do not necessarily need a substantive present in the sentence to modify. The substantive can be presumed. In this way, '3rd person' pronouns are formed.

Example 1[edit | edit source]

Take the masculine form of the adjective 'ille'. Literally it means 'That (masculine) thing.' However one could take it for simply meaning 'he', depending on the context. Similarly, the pronoun 'iste' means 'that (masc.) thing'. Iste and ille are declined in exactly the same way, but there are a slight difference of meaning between them: 'ille' is often used with proper names for marking dignity or worth and 'iste' conveys a contemptuous sense.

Examples:

- Annibal, ille inclytus filius Amilcaris (Hannibal, that renowned Hamilcar's son).

- Iste servus improbus ante te (this bad slave in front of you).


If no substantive is provided assume words like these: 'man', 'woman', 'thing', 'idea', 'concept', 'reason' etc. Let context be your guide.

Common Adjectives Used as 3rd Person Pronouns In Latin[edit | edit source]

Declension of Ille (that)[edit | edit source]

Declension of ille (that): Singular
Latin English
Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative ille illa illud he she it
Genitive illius illius illius his her, hers its
Dative illī illī illī to him to her to it
Accusative illum illam illud him her it
Ablative illō illā illō by, with, from him her it
Declension of ille (that): Plural
Latin English
Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative illī illae illa they, those
Genitive illōrum illārum illōrum their, theirs, of those
Dative illīs illīs illīs to them, to those
Accusative illōs illās illa them, those
Ablative illīs illis illīs by, with, from them, those

Ille is often used as a kind of pronoun. In situations with multiple phrases or sentences, however, it is syntactically different from is, ea, id (see below).

For example: "Canis puero cibum dat. Is laborat in agro." means "The dog gives food to the boy. The dog works in the field".

However: "Canis puero cibum dat. Ille laborat in agro." means "The dog gives food to the boy. The boy works in the field".

Thus, ille, unlike the other pronouns makes a previous object into the subject (and vice versa).

Examples of the Usage of Ille:[edit | edit source]

Latin English
Ille est dominus. He is the master. (ille as pronoun)
Ille dominus est malus. That master is bad. (ille as adjective)
Illam videt He sees her. (or 'she sees her' - illam as pronoun)
Illam puellam videt He (or she) sees that girl (illam as adjective).

Declension of Is, ea, id: (personal pronouns w/ translations)[edit | edit source]

Singular
Case Latin English
M F N M F N
Nominative is ea id he she it
Genitive ēius his her, hers its
Dative to him to her to it
Accusative eum eam id him her it
Ablative by/with him by/with her by/with it
Plural
Case Latin English
M F N M F N
Nominative ii eae ea they, those
Genitive eōrum eārum eōrum their, theirs, of those
Dative eīs, iīs to them, to those
Accusative eōs eās ea them, those
Ablative eīs, iīs by, with, from them, those

Like ille, is can be used as a form of a pronoun.

Examples of the Usage of Is[edit | edit source]

Latin English
Is est dominus. He is the master. ("is" as pronoun)
Is dominus est malus. The master is bad. ("is" as adjective)
Eam videt. He sees her. (or 'she sees her', "eam" as pronoun)
Eam puellam videt. He (or she) sees the girl. ("eam" as adjective)

Declension of the Relative pronoun qui, quae, quod: (meaning who, which)[edit | edit source]

Singular
M F N M F N
Nominative quī quae quod who which
Genitive cūius whose of which
Dative cuī to whom to which
Accusative quem quam quod whom which
Ablative quō quā quō by, with, from whom, which
Plural
M F N M F N
Nominative quī quae quae who which
Genitive quōrum quārum quōrum whose of which
Dative quibus quibus quibus to which
Accusative quōs quās quae which
Ablative quibus quibus quibus by which, in which, etc

Uses of the Relative Pronoun[edit | edit source]

The relative pronoun takes on the case depending on the function it serves in the relative clause. For example, in the sentence "He sees the man who has a slave," "who" is translated as nominative because it is the subject of the clause "who has a slave." The antecedent (noun to which the pronoun refers) is usually before the relative clause.

Examples of the Usage of the Relative Pronoun[edit | edit source]

  1. Virum videt (he/she sees) qui servum (servant) habet (he/she has).
    He sees the man who has a slave
  2. Ille est vir cujus servus est malus.
    That's the man whose slave is bad.
  3. Quis eum videt?
    Who sees him?

Declension of hic, haec, hoc (meaning "this")[edit | edit source]

Singular
Masculine Femine Neuter
Nominative hic haec hoc this
Genitive huius
Dative huic
Accusative hunc hanc hoc
Ablative hōc hāc hōc
Plural
Masculine Femine Neuter
Nominative hae haec these
Genitive hōrum hārum hōrum
Dative hīs
Accusative hōs hās haec
Ablative hīs

N.B. Hic as an adverb that means 'here'. N.B. Hic can also be used as a pronoun.

Example of the Usage of Hic[edit | edit source]

Latin English
'Hic' servus, non ille, est malus. This slave, not that one, is bad.