Personal Pronouns
Summary of Use
The personal pronouns are ego / nōs and tū / vōs.
“Personal pronouns of the third person—he, she, it—are wanting in Latin” (AG 142)
Subject pronouns are rare, except where emphasis is needed
- Direct and indirect object pronouns are more common
Often, personal pronouns cluster together in a sentence
Notes on Particular Forms
Nōs will often appear for ego (the ‘royal we’), but vōs will never appear for tū
- O gods, let me see his face: superī, nōbis videat suam ōs licet!
The forms of the genitive personal pronouns (meī, tuī, suī, nostrī, vestrī) are really the genitive singular neuter possessives
The same is true of nostrum and vestrum as plural neuter possessives
Whereas nostrum and vestrum are typically partitive, meī, tuī, suī, nostrī, and vestrī are typically objective
- He spoke to each one of us: ūnuscuīque nostrum legāvit.
- You are mindful of us: memor nostrī es.
Enclitic Constructions
The emphatic -met may be attached to any pronoun: egomet, nōsmet, vōsmet (but note: tūte and tūtemet)
The personal pronouns may work enclitically with cum.
- He talks with you: vōscum loquitur.
Additional Exampla
- You are dear to me: tūte cara mihi es.
- What you tell me is not true: nōn verum quod mihi dicis est.
- We have come with you to lean: discere nōs tēcum venivīmus.
The Essential AG: 143
Famous Phrase: tū fuī egō eris (I was you; you will be me) [written on gravestones]
