25.02.24: subject pronouns

25.02.24: subject pronouns

It has already been explained in earlier posts that Latin verbs do not need subject pronouns because the verb ending already makes it clear who / what is performing the action = the subject of the sentence. However, the pronouns do exist:

SINGULAR

[1] ego (or egō) (first person singular): I

[2] tū (second person singular): you

[3] is / ea / id* (third person singular): he / she / it

*Latin does not have words which exclusively mean ‘he’ ‘she’ and ‘it’: you have already seen hic, haec and hoc which can be used when referring to people / things close to the speaker e.g. Quis est hic? (Who is this?) but other pronouns: [1] is, ea, id [2] ille, illa, illud and [3] iste, ista, istud also perform a similar function, and these will be discussed as we continue.

PLURAL

[1] nōs (first person plural) we

[2] vōs (second person plural) you

[3] eī [m] / eae [f] / ea [n]* (third person plural) they

*As with is / ea / id, there are alternative plural forms of hic / haec / hoc, ille, illa, illud and iste, ista, istud referred to above which perform a similar function. We will soon begin looking at plurals in more detail.

The pronouns are rarely used apart from [i] to emphasise, [ii] where there could be uncertainty, [iii] to contrast or [iv] where they stand alone, for example:

Ego in Britanniā habitō, sed tū in Ītalia habitās. I live in Britain, but you live in Italy.

Quid agis? Bene, grātiās agō. Et tū? How are you? I’m fine, thanks. And you?

Vōs in agrō laborātis, sed nōs in templō ōrāmus. You (all) work in the field, but we pray in the temple.

tū and vōs

Whether a Roman was talking to the emperor or talking to a slave, if it was one emperor or one slave, the speaker used tū. Similarly, when talking to more than one person – a group of senators or a band of pirates – the speaker used vōs. Spanish, incidentally, has four words for ‘you’, but there’s far less to think about in Latin!