Lesson 11: Pronouns — Personal, Reflexive, and Demonstrative
Full tables for personal, reflexive, and demonstrative pronouns; the cum enclitic; and the absence of a true 3rd-person personal pronoun.
Overview
Latin has a rich pronoun system. Personal pronouns cover 1st and 2nd person fully; for 3rd person Latin uses demonstratives. The reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject of the main clause. Demonstratives hic, ille, and is fill different roles depending on proximity and emphasis.
1. Personal Pronouns (1st and 2nd Person)
Personal pronouns are declined like nouns. Subject pronouns are usually omitted when the verb ending makes the person clear; they appear only for emphasis or contrast.
| Case | 1st sg. | 2nd sg. | 1st pl. | 2nd pl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | ego | tū | nōs | vōs |
| Gen. | meī | tuī | nostrī / nostrum | vestrī / vestrum |
| Dat. | mihi | tibi | nōbīs | vōbīs |
| Acc. | mē | tē | nōs | vōs |
| Abl. | mē | tē | nōbīs | vōbīs |
Notes:
- nostrum and vestrum are partitive genitives ("one of us/you"); nostrī/vestrī are objective genitives ("memory of us/you").
- Nominative forms (ego, tū) are emphatic: ego hoc fēcī = I (not you) did this.
2. No 3rd-Person Personal Pronoun
Latin has no personal pronoun for "he," "she," or "they" equivalent to ego or tū. Instead, a demonstrative serves this function:
- is, ea, id — the neutral 3rd-person demonstrative, closest to "he/she/it/they"
- ille, illa, illud — "that one" (remote, often with prestige connotation)
- hic, haec, hoc — "this one" (near speaker)
3. Reflexive Pronoun: sui, sibi, sē, sē
The reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject of the main clause. It has no nominative (subjects are never reflexive to themselves in Latin pronoun form) and is 3rd person only.
| Case | Form |
|---|---|
| Gen. | suī |
| Dat. | sibi |
| Acc. | sē (or sēsē) |
| Abl. | sē (or sēsē) |
Key distinction:
- ego mē lavō — I wash myself (1st person: use mē)
- tū tē lavās — you wash yourself (2nd person: use tē)
- Caesar sē amat — Caesar loves himself (3rd person: use sē, refers back to Caesar)
- Caesar eum amat — Caesar loves him (someone else, not Caesar)
The distinction between sē (reflexive, refers to subject) and eum/eam (non-reflexive, refers to a different person) is crucial for reading Latin.
4. Demonstrative: hic, haec, hoc (near speaker — "this")
| Case | M | F | N |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. sg. | hic | haec | hoc |
| Gen. sg. | huius | huius | huius |
| Dat. sg. | huic | huic | huic |
| Acc. sg. | hunc | hanc | hoc |
| Abl. sg. | hōc | hāc | hōc |
| Nom. pl. | hī | hae | haec |
| Gen. pl. | hōrum | hārum | hōrum |
| Dat./Abl. pl. | hīs | hīs | hīs |
| Acc. pl. | hōs | hās | haec |
5. Demonstrative: ille, illa, illud (remote — "that")
| Case | M | F | N |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. sg. | ille | illa | illud |
| Gen. sg. | illīus | illīus | illīus |
| Dat. sg. | illī | illī | illī |
| Acc. sg. | illum | illam | illud |
| Abl. sg. | illō | illā | illō |
| Nom. pl. | illī | illae | illa |
| Gen. pl. | illōrum | illārum | illōrum |
| Dat./Abl. pl. | illīs | illīs | illīs |
| Acc. pl. | illōs | illās | illa |
Ille is also used to indicate a famous or prestigious person: ille Cicero = "the famous Cicero."
6. Demonstrative: is, ea, id (neutral — "he/she/it/this/that")
| Case | M | F | N |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. sg. | is | ea | id |
| Gen. sg. | eius | eius | eius |
| Dat. sg. | eī | eī | eī |
| Acc. sg. | eum | eam | id |
| Abl. sg. | eō | eā | eō |
| Nom. pl. | eī / iī | eae | ea |
| Gen. pl. | eōrum | eārum | eōrum |
| Dat./Abl. pl. | eīs / iīs | eīs / iīs | eīs / iīs |
| Acc. pl. | eōs | eās | ea |
Is/ea/id is the default pronoun for "he/she/it" and for "this/that" in a neutral, non-emphatic context.
7. The cum Enclitic
When cum (with) is used with personal or reflexive pronouns, it becomes an enclitic — it attaches to the end of the pronoun rather than preceding it:
| Phrase | NOT |
|---|---|
| mēcum (with me) | |
| tēcum (with you) | |
| nōbīscum (with us) | |
| vōbīscum (with you pl.) | |
| sēcum (with himself/herself/themselves) |
With nouns, cum precedes normally: cum puellā, cum militibus.
Key Vocabulary
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
| ego | I |
| tū | you (sg.) |
| nōs | we / us |
| vōs | you (pl.) |
| sē | himself / herself / themselves (reflexive) |
| hic / haec / hoc | this (near speaker) |
| ille / illa / illud | that (remote) |
| is / ea / id | he / she / it / this / that |
| lavō, lavāre | to wash |
| amat | he/she loves |
Example Sentences
- Ego Rōmānus sum; tū Graecus es. — I am Roman; you are Greek.
- Caesar sē in speculō videt. — Caesar sees himself in the mirror.
- Puella eam amat. — The girl loves her (someone else).
- Hic liber est meus; ille liber est tuus. — This book is mine; that book is yours.
- Nōbīscum venit. — He came with us.
- Ea cum discipulīs labōrat. — She works with the students.
- Mīlitēs sēcum arma portābant. — The soldiers were carrying weapons with them.
- Huius casae dominus est Marcus. — The owner of this house is Marcus.
- Illī virī fortēs erant. — Those men were brave.
- Tibi pecūniam dō. — I give money to you.
Practice
A. Translate into English:
- Caesar sē laudat; Cicero eum laudat.
- Nōbīscum ambula.
- Hī puerī bonī sunt; illae puellae malae sunt.
B. Fill in the correct pronoun:
- Mīles ______ (himself) videt. → ____
- Dominus ______ (with us) cenat. → ____
- ______ (This — nom. f. sg.) puella pulchra est. → ____
C. Identify the demonstrative and explain its gender, number, and case:
- huius villae
- illōs servōs
- eīs fēminīs