Latin for beginners (1911)/Part II/Lesson XVII

by Benjamin Leonard D'Ooge

Layout 2

LESSON XVII

THE DEMONSTRATIVE IS, EA, ID

112. A demonstrative is a word that points out an object definitely, as this, that, these, those. Sometimes these words are pronouns, as, Do you hear these? and sometimes adjectives, as, Do you hear these men? In the former case they are called demonstrative pronouns, in the latter demonstrative adjectives.

113. Demonstratives are similarly used in Latin both as pronouns and as adjectives. The one used most is

is, masculine ; ea, feminine ; id, neuter

Singular

this that

Plural

these those

114. Is is declined as follows. Compare its declension with that of alius, § 109.

Base e-

	Singular				Plural
	masc.	fem.	neut.		masc.	fem.	neut.
Nom.	is	ea	id		eī (or iī)	eae	ea
Gen.	eius	eius	eius		eōrum	eārum	eōrum
Dat.	eī	eī	eī		eīs (or iīs)	eīs (or iīs)	eīs (or iīs)
Acc.	eum	eam	id		eōs	eās	ea
Abl.	eō	eā	eō		eīs (or iīs)	eīs (or iīs)	eīs (or iīs)

Note that the base e- changes to i- in a few cases. The genitive singular eius is pronounced eh'yus. In the plural the forms with two i’s are preferred and the two i’s are pronounced as one. Hence, pronounce iī as ī and iīs as īs.

115. Besides being used as demonstrative pronouns and adjectives the Latin demonstratives are regularly used for the personal pronoun he, she, it. As a personal pronoun, then, is would have the following meanings:

Sing $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ Nom. is, he; ea, she; id, it Gen. eius, of him or his; eius, of her, her, or hers; eius, of it or its Dat. eī, to or for him; eī, to or for her; eī, to or for it Acc. eum, him; eam, her; id, it Abl. eō, with, from, etc., him; eā, with, from, etc., her; eō, with, from, etc., it Plur $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ Nom. eī or iī, eae, ea, they Gen. eōrum, eārum, eōrum, of them, their Dat. eīs or iīs, eīs or iīs, eīs or iīs, to or for them Acc. eōs, eās, ea, them Abl. eīs or iīs, eīs or iīs, eīs or iīs, with, from, etc., them

116. Comparison between suus and is. We learned above (§ 98. c) that suus is a reflexive possessive. When his, her (poss.), its, their, do not refer to the subject of the sentence, we express his, her, its by eius, the genitive singular of is, ea, id ; and their by the genitive plural, using eōrum to refer to a masculine or neuter antecedent noun and eārum to refer to a feminine one.

EXAMPLES

Galba calls his (own) son, Galba suum fīlium vocat

Galba calls his son (not his own, but another's), Galba eius fīlium vocat

Julia calls her (own) children, Iūlia suōs līberōs vocat

Julia calls her children (not her own, but another's), Iūlia eius līberōs vocat

The men praise their (own) boys, virī suōs puerōs laudant

The men praise their boys (not their own, but others'), virī eōrum puerōs laudant

First learn the special vocabulary, p. 287.

1. He praises her, him, it, them.
2. This cart, that report, these teachers, those women, that abode, these abodes.
3. That strong garrison, among those weak and sick women, that want of firmness, those frequent plans.
4. The other woman is calling her chickens (her own).
5. Another woman is calling her chickens (not her own).
6. The Gaul praises his arms (his own).
7. The Gaul praises his arms (not his own).
8. This farmer often plows their fields.
9. Those wretched slaves long for their master (their own).
10. Those wretched slaves long for their master (not their own).
11. Free men love their own fatherland.
12. They love its villages and towns.

Cornelius and Marcus

M. Quis est vir, Cornēlī, cum puerō parvō? Estne Rōmānus et līber?

C. Rōmānus nōn est, Mārce. Is vir est servus et eius domicilium est in silvīs Galliae.

M. Estne puer fīlius eius servī an alterīus?

C. Neutrīus fīlius est puer. Is est fīlius lēgātī Sextī.

M. Quō puer cum eō servō properat?

C. Is cum servō properat ad lātōs Sextī agrōs.^[2] Tōtum frūmentum est iam mātūrum et magnus servōrum numerus in Italiae^[3] agrīs labōrat.

M. Agricolaene sunt Gallī et patriae suae agrōs arant?

C. Nōn agricolae sunt. Bellum amant Gallī, nōn agrī cultūram. Apud eōs virī pugnant et fēminae auxiliō līberōrum agrōs arant parantque cibum.

M. Magister noster puerīs puellīsque grātās Gallōrum fābulās saepe nārrat et laudat eōs saepe.

C. Mala est fortūna eōrum et saepe miserī servī multīs cum lacrimīs patriam suam dēsīderant.

Second Review, Lessons IX-XVII, §§ 506–509

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References

1. There are a number of departures from the normal order in this dialogue. Find them, and give the reason.
2. When a noun is modified by both a genitive and an adjective, a favorite order of words is adjective, genitive, noun.
3. A modifying genitive often stands between a preposition and its object.