“Se” and “Ipse”
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
LFA chp 54, 65
Reflexive Pronouns
• Reflexive: when the action of the verb is
reflected back onto the subject of the
sentence
• I love myself.
• You love yourself.
• He loves himself.
• They love themselves.
Reflexive Pronouns
• In Latin, the 1st and 2nd person personal
pronouns you’ve already learned can be used
as reflexives (me, te, nos, vos)
• Me amo. I love myself. (lit., “I love me.”)
• Te amas. You love yourself. (lit, “you love
you”…etc.)
• Nos amamus. We love ourselves.
• Vos amatis. Y’all love yourselves.
Reflexive Pronouns
• The 3rd person uses a special reflexive pronoun,
“sui.” The same form is used for the singular
and plural.
• Nom.
--- (no nominative form…it’s impossible!)
• Gen.
sui (of himself, herself, itself, themselves)
• Dat.
sibi (to/for himself, herself, itself, themselves)
• Acc.
se (himself, herself, itself, themselves)
• Abl.
se (by/with/from himself, herself, itself, themselves)
Reflexive Pronouns
• The exact meaning of “sui” is determined by
the subject.
• Puellae se amant. The girls love themselves.
• Agricola se amat. The farmer loves himself.
• Femina se amat. The woman loves herself.
Intensive Pronouns
• intensive: a pronoun used in an intensive or
emphatic sense.
• I myself saw the crime. / I saw the crime
myself.
• I saw the man himself.
• The girls themselves ran
to town.
Intensive Pronoun IPSE, IPSA, IPSUM
-self
Singular
Plural
M.
F.
N.
M.
F.
N.
NOM.
IPSE
IPSA
IPSUM
NOM.
IPSI
IPSAE
IPSA
GEN.
IPSIUS
IPSIUS
IPSIUS
GEN.
IPSORUM
IPSARUM
IPSORUM
DAT.
IPSI
IPSI
IPSI
DAT.
IPSIS
IPSIS
IPSIS
ACC.
IPSUM IPSAM IPSUM
ACC.
IPSOS
IPSAS
IPSA
ABL.
IPSO
ABL.
IPSIS
IPSIS
IPSIS
IPSA
IPSO
Intensive Pronouns
•
•
•
•
•
•
I saw the man myself. / I myself saw the man.
Ipse virum vidi.
I saw the man himself.
Virum ipsum vidi.
The girls themselves ran to town.
Puellae ipsae ad oppidum cucurrerunt.