Pronouns 3
There are many more less common pronouns that come up in Latin. However, most of
these are formed like pronouns you have already come across and therefore, while being
able to recognise and translate them is still vital, it is not strictly necessary to learn their
tables. These tables are given to you on pages 33-40.
ipse, ipsa, ipsum - self, selves (pl)
There is a difference between ipse and se (which is always third person, always reflexive
and never nominative). The word ipse implies that the action was done in person (ie not
through someone else. Compare:
nos ipsi nihil audivimus - we ourselves heard nothing.
puella sibi cenam paravit - the girl prepared dinner for herself.
Ipse is often used with a noun or other pronoun, even though it can be used on its own:
regem ipsum vidi - I saw the king himself.
It can also. Be added to reflexive for extra emphasis:
hic miles se ipsum semper laudat - this soldier always praises himself.
idem, eadem, idem - the same
This is the pronoun is, ea, id (we covered this in an earlier lesson) with -dem on the end.
Note that the -s of the masculine nominative singular has disappeared, so it is idem and
not isdem.
Like other pronouns, idem can be used by itself, or as an adjective with a noun. Compare:
hic senex eadem semper dicit - this old man always says the same things
num eudem librum iterum vis? - surely you do not want the same book again?
qui, quae, quod - who, which
*This one actually does come up at least once in every translation, so I would learn it!*
qui, quae, quod is what’s known as a relative pronoun as it relates or links two facts about
a person or thing:
servus, quem heri vidi, iterum adest - the slave, whom I saw yesterday, is here again.
Here we have two facts about the slave, linked by the relative pronoun:
1 - I saw him yesterday
2 - he is here again
The relative pronoun agrees with the noun in number and gender, but its case is
determined by the job it is doing in its own clause. In the sentence above, the main
sentence is ‘servus iterum adest’ (the slave is here again). The sentence that was made
into the relative clause is ‘servum heri vidi’ (I saw the slave yesterday). Clearly, the
reference to the slave in the relative clause is accusative (servum) - this is still true when
we put this sentence inside the main one.
There are many more less common pronouns that come up in Latin. However, most of
these are formed like pronouns you have already come across and therefore, while being
able to recognise and translate them is still vital, it is not strictly necessary to learn their
tables. These tables are given to you on pages 33-40.
ipse, ipsa, ipsum - self, selves (pl)
There is a difference between ipse and se (which is always third person, always reflexive
and never nominative). The word ipse implies that the action was done in person (ie not
through someone else. Compare:
nos ipsi nihil audivimus - we ourselves heard nothing.
puella sibi cenam paravit - the girl prepared dinner for herself.
Ipse is often used with a noun or other pronoun, even though it can be used on its own:
regem ipsum vidi - I saw the king himself.
It can also. Be added to reflexive for extra emphasis:
hic miles se ipsum semper laudat - this soldier always praises himself.
idem, eadem, idem - the same
This is the pronoun is, ea, id (we covered this in an earlier lesson) with -dem on the end.
Note that the -s of the masculine nominative singular has disappeared, so it is idem and
not isdem.
Like other pronouns, idem can be used by itself, or as an adjective with a noun. Compare:
hic senex eadem semper dicit - this old man always says the same things
num eudem librum iterum vis? - surely you do not want the same book again?
qui, quae, quod - who, which
*This one actually does come up at least once in every translation, so I would learn it!*
qui, quae, quod is what’s known as a relative pronoun as it relates or links two facts about
a person or thing:
servus, quem heri vidi, iterum adest - the slave, whom I saw yesterday, is here again.
Here we have two facts about the slave, linked by the relative pronoun:
1 - I saw him yesterday
2 - he is here again
The relative pronoun agrees with the noun in number and gender, but its case is
determined by the job it is doing in its own clause. In the sentence above, the main
sentence is ‘servus iterum adest’ (the slave is here again). The sentence that was made
into the relative clause is ‘servum heri vidi’ (I saw the slave yesterday). Clearly, the
reference to the slave in the relative clause is accusative (servum) - this is still true when
we put this sentence inside the main one.
