Latin with Foster

Experience III, Lesson 12: Demonstratives

Learning the different types of demonstrative pronouns / adjectives.

Recall how we leaned the Pronouns is, ea, id, ei, etc. as he, she, it, they.
These we can call 'light words', what textbooks would call 'unemphatic' pronouns.

There are also 'heavy, weighty words' which are called "Demonstratives" or 'emphatic' pronouns. I.e. those which distinguish / emphasize / designate a particular person or thing: this man, that dog, those women, such things, the very one, I myself.

hic, haec, hoc

The heavy, weighty word for 'this', 'these'.
[note: hic can also mean 'here']

hic = this one near me / by me = pronoun of 1st person

ille, illa, illud

The heavy, weighty word for 'that', 'those'.
[can also mean 'that famous one']

ille = that one over there / near him = pronoun of 3rd person

iste, ista, istud

Another heavy, weighty word for 'that', 'those'.
[can also have a pejorative sense of a bad idea: that lousy/crummy/stupid/wretched/miserable one]

iste = that one of yours / by-near you = pronoun of 2nd person

ipse, ipsa, ipsum

The intensive pronouns meaning 'self' or 'very'.
[note: this is not reflexive: it does not refer back to the subject, rather it can intensify anything]

ipse can be any of the three persons: I myself, you yourself, he himself, etc.
N.B. ipse never means 'the same'!

N.B.

All 4 of the above can frequently be used to simply mean 'he, she, it' (thus ignoring the heavy meaning).
This occurs especially in the Vulgate, Fathers of the Church and Church Latin (but in classical and renaissance Latin).
'is, ea, id' can also mean: 'this, that, such', thus giving a heavy meaning to these normally light words. (Look up 'is' in your dictionary.)
eos libros - those books; eas picturas - those pictures
There is a special meaning for the combination: 'hic ... ille' which means 'the latter ... the former'

Now go on to Lesson 13: Forming the Demonstratives

Third Experience Latin - Fr. Reginald Foster

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