Pronouns are nouns that substitute for proper nouns (e.g. Mrs. Robinson) or generic
nouns (e.g. plastics) in a sentence. They have case, number, and gender just as
any other noun.
Demonstrative pronouns specify something: ille, illa, illud (that), hic, haec, hoc
(this). Is, ea, id is a weak demonstrative (this or that, a bit like a strong ‘the x’); it
refers to someone or something already mentioned. Ipse, ipsa, ipsum is a kind
of demonstrative that intensifies (see below). These can be used also as
adjectives: ille canis (that dog), hi colles (these hills), illas nubes (those
clouds), ipsa oppida (the cities themselves).
Personal pronouns indicate first person (I, we) or second person (you, you all),
while the third person is supplied by is, ea, id or some other pronoun. They
have cases and functions the same as other nouns: te videt. “She sees you.”
me vident. “They see me.”
Reflexive pronouns work in the same way as regular pronouns do: they have all
the cases (except nominative) and regular functions of cases. It’s just that when
you use one (or see it used), you have to realize that its antecedent is the
sentence’s subject. COMPARE:
femina illam videt. “The woman sees that girl.” illam is an accusative pronoun
(feminine direct object here) that refers to some girl. BUT
femina se videt. “The woman sees herself.” se is an accusative pronoun
(feminine direct object here) that refers back to the subject, here femina. You
could also have, for instance, a reflexive pronoun in the dative: femina sibi
donum dat. “The woman gives a gift to herself.”
Reflexive adjectives (suus -a -um ) should be noted here. They are declined just
as every other first/second declension adjective and match their nouns in gender,
number, and case. As with reflexive pronouns, though, their meaning refers to
the subject of their clauses--specifically to possession by that subject: Iulius
filium suum pulsat (“Julius hits his own son.”), vs. Iulius filium eius pulsat
(“Julius hits the man’s son.”).
Intensive pronouns/adjectives merely put emphasis on some noun in the sentence.
The only confusion they might cause is in that English (not Latin, in which the
forms are clearer than English on this) uses ‘-self’ for both intensive and reflexive
pronouns.
donum dat regi ipsi. “She gives a gift to the king himself” (not to some herald or
bodyguard, but handed it right to the king himself).
ipse donum dat regi. “He himself gives a gift to the king.” (He didn’t have
someone else do it for him, rather he himself took care of it personally.)
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Relative pronouns refer to an antecedent (the word the pronoun replaces) and
introduce a clause subordinate to the main one (in effect the pronoun is used as
the link to combine two independent sentences). The relative pronoun agrees
with its antecedent in gender and number, but its case depends on the pronoun’s
function in its own clause: Vir, quem vident, bonus est. (“The man, whom they
see, is good.” That compound sentence combines two separate ideas: The man
is good + They see the man.) Quem is m. sing., just as vir, but its case is acc.,
not nom., because the man is the direct object in its original sentence, and that
doesn’t change just because he’s represented now by a pronoun.
Interrogative pronouns introduce questions. While often corresponding to other
declensions, their declension should itself be memorized (as should that of the
relatives). Contrary to some explanations, there are only two singular
interrogative pronouns, quis (which is both masculine and feminine) and quid
(neuter). The plural is identical in form to the relative; it thus shows a separate
form for each of the genders.
Interrogative adjectives are identical in form to the relatives throughout the
declension; thus there are separate forms for masculine, feminine, and neuter in
both singular and plural.
EXAMPLES OF INTERROGATIVES:
Quem vocat? “Whom does he call?” Quem virum vocat? “What man does he
call?”
Quem videt? “Whom does he see?” Quam feminam videt? “What woman does
he see?”
Quem in the first example refers to a man, in the third to a woman. Note
however how the adjective does reflect the gender in #2 and #4 (quem quam ).
Quis advenit? “Who approaches?” is ambiguous as to the sex of the person
approaching.
EXAMPLES OF RELATIVES:
1. Vir, quem femina amat, bonus est. “The man whom the woman loves is
good.”
2. Virum, qui in via ambulat, femina amat. “The woman loves the man who is
walking in the street.”
3. Feminae, quibus vir donum dat, pulchrae sunt. “The women to whom the man
gives a present are beautiful.”
In #1 the antecedent of quem is vir, therefore the relative is masculine singular,
but since it is the direct object in its own clause, it must be accusative even
though its antecedent is nominative.
In #2 the antecedent of qui is virum, therefore the relative is masculine singular,
but since it is the subject of its own clause, it must be nominative even though
its antecedent is accusative.
In #3 the antecedent of quibus is feminae, therefore the relative is feminine
plural, but since it is the indirect object in its own clause, it must be dative
even though its antecedent is nominative.