Latin from scratch #15.32: Demonstrative adjectives/pronouns

In the thirty-second class of the Latin from Scratch course, we’ll study the morphosyntax of the demonstratives. We include six of them, although not all of them are pure demonstratives. However, they’ve always been studied together due to their similar features.

I explain everything in the following video ():

General morphosyntax

Originally they had their own declension patterns, but eventually they kind of merge with the noun/adjective declension patterns, so they are quite similar (especially in the plural).

However, there are still some conservative features specific to pronouns: in the singular for all three genders we have the genitive ‑ius and the dative ‑i.

All this said, the declension of these pronouns looks quite similar to 2-1-2 adjectives, but we still have to notice and learn the differences.

Depending on their grammatical meaning, the so-called demonstrative pronouns fall into one of these two groups (although they are often mixed):

• deictic: they place a person or thing in a place or a time (i.e. English this, that)
• phoric: they refer to a person or thing already mentioned (anaphoric) or which will be mentioned (cataphoric)

From another perspective, all of them can function as a pure pronoun or as adjectives.

Vidi hunc.

I saw this one.

Vidi hunc puerum.

I saw this boy.

Deictic pronouns/adjectives

In English and in many other languages the deictic pronouns are distributed in two levels: what is close to the speaker (this) and everything else (that). However, Latin establishes three levels (like for example Spanish): close to the speaker (hic), close to the listener (iste) and everything else (ille).

Of course, the most problematic pronoun will be iste, which doesn’t have a correspondance in English. Depending on the context, sometimes it will be translated as this or as that.

Close to the speaker

Close to the listener

In Classical texts, it often has a pejorative meaning:

iste homo

that (infamous) man

Far from both

It often has a value more similar to the 3rd person personal pronoun (cf. Spanish él, ella) or just to the definite article (cf. Spanish el, la).

In some contexts, it might have an emphatic meaning:

ille Scipio

that (famous) Scipio

Phoric pronouns/adjectives

These are actually a bit more confusing than the deictic pronouns, since there are really no exact equivalents in English (even in Spanish!).

Purely phoric (usually anaphoric)

It refers to someone or something which has already been mentioned (or will be soon, especially in a relative clause).

When more than one form is given, they mean exactly the same and there’s absolutely no difference between them.

It can be used just as a 3rd person pronoun.

Identity

Something has already been mentioned and a point is being made that we are referring to that something, not any other thing.

There’s no difference in meaning between variants.

Emphasis + identity

It is easier to just know that we can usually translate it as the very X, Y himself, etc.

Do notice that it can refer to any of the three persons:

Ipse Caesar pugnavit.

Caesar himself fought.

Nosce te ipsum.

Know thyself.

Ipsae fecimus.

We ourselves made it.

After learning the demonstrative adjectives/pronouns, let’s practice with some texts!

Next: Demonstrative adjectives/pronouns →