22.05.25: Level 1; readings [12] - [15]: review (1a); personal pronouns (1)

Latin verbs do not need subject pronouns i.e. I, you, he, she etc. because the verb ending already makes it clear who / what is performing the action i.e. 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’ and there are three sets of pronouns which can be used:

[i] is / ea / id: the closest equivalents of English ‘he’, ‘she’ and ‘it’ and, like English, refer to something / someone previously mentioned

[ii] hic / haec / hoc: this (man, woman, thing etc.) / this one; he / she / it i.e. referring to something / someone close to the speaker

[iii] ille / illa / illud: that (man, woman, thing etc.); he / she / it i.e. referring to someone / something away from the speaker

[iv] iste / ista / istud: It has the same English translation as ille in [iii] above, but it refers to a noun near the listener or connected to the listener. It is, therefore, sometimes known as the demonstrative of the second person because it refers to a noun near the person being directly addressed; in Classical Latin it was also used pejoratively when referring to someone / something in a negative tone e.g. iste vir: that (dreadful / wretched) man; iste fīlius: that son of yours

[1] Links to earlier posts on is, ea, id:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LsKpv7nwA3-rwgzn88bzoOGgPMV8Kqj-/view?usp=sharing

Latin tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74R9hHFr0JI

[2] Links to earlier posts on hic, ille and istud:

04.05.24: review; birthday plans [7] notes: other points (iii); demonstrative adjectives and pronouns [1]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/04.html

04.05.24: review; birthday plans [8] notes: other points (iii); demonstrative adjectives and pronouns [2] Examples of ille from the authors

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/040524-review-birthday-plans-8-notes.html

04.05.24: review; birthday plans [9] notes: other points (iv); demonstratives and pronouns [3]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/040524-review-birthday-plans-9-notes.html

Latin tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU3X-jdXwA4

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 which perform the same functions as discussed above.

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!