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Latin from scratch course › #15: Demonstrative pronouns › #15.32: Demonstratives

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.

Contents

  • General morphosyntax
  • Deictic pronouns/adjectives
    • Close to the speaker
    • Close to the listener
    • Far from both
  • Phoric pronouns/adjectives
    • Purely phoric (usually anaphoric)
    • Identity
    • Emphasis + identity

I explain everything in the following video (⏳ 20m 39s ⌛):

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General morphosyntax

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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

Masculine sing.Feminine sing.Neuter sing. Masculine pluralFeminine pluralNeuter plural
hĭchaechŏchīhaehaec
hŭnchănchŏchōshāshaec
hŭiŭshŭiŭshŭiŭshōrŭmhārŭmhōrŭm
hŭĭchŭĭchŭĭchīshīshīs
hōchāchōchīshīshīs

Close to the listener

Masculine sing.Feminine sing.Neuter sing. Masculine pluralFeminine pluralNeuter plural
ĭstĕĭstăĭstŭdĭstīĭstaeĭstă
ĭstŭmĭstămĭstŭdĭstōsĭstāsĭstă
ĭstīŭsĭstīŭsĭstīŭsĭstōrŭmĭstārŭmĭstōrŭm
ĭstīĭstīĭstīĭstīsĭstīsĭstīs
ĭstōĭstāĭstōĭstīsĭstīsĭstīs

In Classical texts, it often has a pejorative meaning:

iste homo

that (infamous) man

Far from both

Masculine sing.Feminine sing.Neuter sing. Masculine pluralFeminine pluralNeuter plural
ĭllĕĭllăĭllŭdĭllīĭllaeĭllă
ĭllumĭllămĭllŭdĭllōsĭllāsĭllă
ĭllīŭsĭllīŭsĭllīŭsĭllōrŭmĭllārŭmĭllōrŭm
ĭllīĭllīĭllīĭllīsĭllīsĭllīs
ĭllōĭllāĭllōĭllīsĭllīsĭllīs

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).

Masculine sing.Feminine sing.Neuter sing. Masculine pluralFeminine pluralNeuter plural
ĭsĕăĭdĕī/ĭī/īĕaeĕă
ĕŭmĕămĭdĕōsĕāsĕă
ĕiŭsĕiŭsĕiŭsĕōrŭmĕārŭmĕōrŭm
ĕīĕīĕīĕīs/ĭīs/īsĕīs/ĭīs/īsĕīs/ĭīs/īs
ĕōĕāĕōĕīs/ĭīs/īsĕīs/ĭīs/īsĕīs/ĭīs/īs

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.

Masculine sing.Feminine sing.Neuter sing. Masculine pluralFeminine pluralNeuter plural
īdĕmĕădĕmĭdĕmĕīdĕm
ĭīdĕm
īdĕm
ĕaedĕmĕădĕm
ĕŭndĕm
ĕŭmdĕm
ĕăndĕm
ĕămdĕm
ĭdĕmĕōsdĕmĕāsdĕmĕădĕm
ēiŭsdĕmēiŭsdĕmēiŭsdĕmĕōrŭndĕm
ĕōrŭmdĕm
ĕārŭndĕm
ĕārŭmdĕm
ĕōrŭndĕm
ĕōrŭmdĕm
ēīdĕmēīdĕmēīdĕmĕīsdĕm
ĭīsdĕm
īsdĕm
ĕīsdĕm
ĭīsdĕm
īsdĕm
ĕīsdĕm
ĭīsdĕm
īsdĕm
ĕōdĕmĕādĕmĕōdĕmĕīsdĕm
ĭīsdĕm
īsdĕm
ĕīsdĕm
ĭīsdĕm
īsdĕm
ĕīsdĕm
ĭīsdĕm
īsdĕm

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.

Masculine sing.Feminine sing.Neuter sing. Masculine pluralFeminine pluralNeuter plural
ĭpseĭpsăĭpsŭmĭpsīĭpsaeĭpsă
ĭpsŭmĭpsămĭpsŭmĭpsōsĭpsāsĭpsă
ĭpsīŭsĭpsīŭsĭpsīŭsĭpsōrŭmĭpsārŭmĭpsōrŭm
ĭpsīĭpsīĭpsīĭpsīsĭpsīsĭpsīs
ĭpsōĭpsāĭpsōĭpsīsĭpsīsĭpsīs

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!

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Paco Álvarez

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I’m Paco Álvarez, a Spanish classical philologist. For years I’ve been teaching Latin and Greek online to Spanish students. When I saw there was nothing like my AcademiaLatin.com for English-speaking Latin lovers, I decided to create it myself, and that’s how LatinFromScratch.com was born.

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Course content

  1. Quick start
  2. Introduction
  3. Cases and their functions
  4. The five declensions
  5. First declension
  6. Verbal conjugation
  7. Present tense
  8. Second declension
  9. 2-1-2 adjectives
  10. Imperfect past tense
  11. Future tense
  12. Third declension nouns
  13. Third declension adjectives
  14. Perfect past tense
  15. Adverbials of place
  16. Fourth declension
  17. Fifth declension
  18. Pluperfect tense
  19. Possessives
  20. Personal pronouns
  21. Apposition
  22. Predicative complement
  23. Present subjunctive
  24. Imperfect subjunctive
  25. Perfect subjunctive
  26. Perfect future indicative
  27. Pluperfect subjunctive
  28. Syntax of cum
  29. Syntax of ut & ne
  30. Comparison of adjectives
  31. Superlative adjectives
  32. Adverbs from adjectives
  33. Demonstratives
  34. Relative clauses
  35. Passive voice
  36. Deponent verbs
  37. Relative time
  38. Participles: morphology
  39. Participles: syntax
  40. Infinitives
  41. Compounds of sum
  42. Irregular verbs
  43. Imperative

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