Study Notes

These possessive pronouns decline like 1st/2nd declension adjectives (the bonus -a -um pattern), agreeing with the noun they modify in case, number, and gender.

meus, mea, meum = my, mine (1st person singular possessive)

tuus, tua, tuum = your, yours (2nd person singular possessive — one person's possession)

suus, sua, suum = his own, her own, its own, their own (REFLEXIVE — refers back to the subject)

Critical distinction: suus is reflexive — it refers back to the subject of the sentence. Dominus servum suum vocat = The master calls his own slave (his = the master's own). When the possessor is NOT the subject, use eius (genitive of is/ea/id) instead.

Special note: The vocative of meus is mi — Mi fili! = My son!

The pronoun is/ea/id serves as the 3rd person pronoun (he/she/it) and also as a demonstrative meaning "that." It has several irregular forms that must be memorized.

Singular:

Nom: is (m) ea (f) id (n)

Gen: eius (m/f/n — all same)

Dat: ei (m/f/n — all same)

Acc: eum (m) eam (f) id (n)

Abl: eo (m) ea (f) eo (n)

Plural:

Nom: ei/ii (m) eae (f) ea (n)

Gen: eorum (m) earum (f) eorum (n)

Dat/Abl: eis (m/f/n — all same)

Acc: eos (m) eas (f) ea (n)

Key: The genitive singular eius is the same for all genders. Eius also means "his/her/its" (non-reflexive possession — the possessor is not the subject).

Demonstrative pronouns point to specific nouns. hic points to things near the speaker ("this"); ille points to things farther away ("that"). Both are irregular and must be memorized.

hic, haec, hoc (this — nearby):

Nom sg: hic (m) haec (f) hoc (n)

Gen sg: huius (m/f/n — all same)

Dat sg: huic (m/f/n — all same)

Acc sg: hunc (m) hanc (f) hoc (n)

Abl sg: hoc (m) hac (f) hoc (n)

Nom pl: hi (m) hae (f) haec (n)

Gen pl: horum (m) harum (f) horum (n)

Dat/Abl pl: his (m/f/n)

Acc pl: hos (m) has (f) haec (n)

ille, illa, illud (that — farther away):

Nom sg: ille (m) illa (f) illud (n)

Gen sg: illius (m/f/n — all same)

Dat sg: illi (m/f/n — all same)

Acc sg: illum (m) illam (f) illud (n)

Abl sg: illo (m) illa (f) illo (n)

Plural follows regular 1st/2nd declension pattern: illi, illae, illa (nom pl); etc.

The relative pronoun introduces a relative clause ("who," "which," "that"). It agrees with its antecedent (the noun it refers to) in gender and number, but its case is determined by its function within the relative clause — not by the antecedent.

Singular:

Nom: qui (m) quae (f) quod (n)

Gen: cuius (m/f/n — all same)

Dat: cui (m/f/n — all same)

Acc: quem (m) quam (f) quod (n)

Abl: quo (m) qua (f) quo (n)

Plural:

Nom: qui (m) quae (f) quae (n)

Gen: quorum (m) quarum (f) quorum (n)

Dat/Abl: quibus (m/f/n — all same)

Acc: quos (m) quas (f) quae (n)

Example: Servus quem dominus videt laborat.

= The slave whom the master sees is working.

quem is accusative because it is the direct object of videt (within the relative clause). But quem is masculine singular because its antecedent servus is masculine singular.