27.03.24: ille, illa, illud

So, contrary to what we’ve done before, look at the image first, and then look out of the window for the tallest building from which to throw yourself! If you start from the table you may think that it’s too high a hill to climb and go and learn something else. So, don’t start with the table.

[i] ille, illa, illud: what do they mean? Are they still around in other languages?

• French: il (he) < Lat. ille (that [man]; he)
• Fr: elle (she) < Lat. illa (that [woman]: she)
• Spanish: ellos (they [m.]) < Lat. illōs (those [men]; they)
• Spanish: ellas (they [f.]) < Lat. illās (those [women]; they)

So, [i] ille [ii] illa and [iii] illud can mean [i] that [man]; he [ii] that [woman]; she or [iii] that [thing]; it. Their plural forms translate as “those [men, women, things]” or, depending on context, “they”.

In the same way that English says “I like this book”, referring to, something close to you e.g. in your hand, but “I prefer that one”, referring to something further away, Latin makes the same distinction. Hic, haec and hoc – which we have already looked at – refers to something or someone close to you, but ille, illa and illud refers to something or someone further away.

Cuius est hic liber? │ Whose is this book? 

Cuius est ille liber? │ Whose is that book?

Quis est haec fēmina? │ Who is this woman? 

Quis est illa puella? │ Who is that girl?

Quid est hoc? │ What is this (thing)? 

Quid est illud? │ What is that (thing)?

What it doesn’t mean in Classical Latin is “the”; the “mutation” of ille and illa in French also extended to le / la (the) and Spanish el / la (the) but it never translates as “the” in Classical. There was no definite article in CL.

Ille, illa and illud are so common that, rather like omnis (all) in an earlier post, you will pick up the endings through reading rather than only learning a table. The table is posted for reference.

But is it as daunting as it first appears? Most of ille is the same as 1st / 2nd declension nouns and adjectives which have already been covered. Only those parts marked in yellow are different. So, in fact, there isn’t as much to learn as perhaps you first thought.

Below are some examples in short sentences. Don’t be concerned with the endings, but take a look at what cases are involved. Then you can cross-reference to the table. Alternatively, don’t think about the cases; just become familiar with the word in context because it’s easy to spot and understand.

Quam scelestus est ille [nominative] caupō! │ How wicked that innkeeper is!

Et ille [nominative] “Oppida aedificābant,” inquit. │And he said “They did use to build towns.”

Illam [accusative] amābam. │ I used to love her [i.e. that (woman; girl)]

Dīligēbat autem illum virum [accusative] sīcut angelum deī. (St. Augustine) │ But she loved that man like an angel of God.

Illīus [genitive] pecūniam puellae dō. │ I give his money [= the money of that (man)] to the girl.

Illī [dative] pecūniam dō. │I give the money to him (or to her) [that man / woman].

illō [ablative] tempore │ at that time

Quis in illā villā [ablative] habitat? │ Who lives in that house?

Illī [nominative plural] bonī agricolae erant. │ They [those men] were good farmers.

Ille magister [nominative] illōs puerōs [accusative plural] castīgat. │That teacher is punishing those boys.

Illōrum [genitive plural] pecūniam habēmus. │ We have their money [= the money of those (men)]

From Catullus who’s suffering from a, most likely, temporary split with his girlfriend:

Ibi illa [nominative plural] multa cum iocōsa fīēbant … Nunc iam illa [nominative singular] nōn vult (Catullus) │ There, where those many playful things took place … She’s no longer willing now.

And why does Catullus use these words? Those playful things are away from him in time and space ... and she is definitely not near him!