Master Latin personal pronouns, demonstratives, relative pronouns, and interrogatives — plus how prepositions govern the accusative or ablative case to express location, motion, and relationships.
Estimated Time: 45–55 minutes
Latin often omits subject pronouns because verb endings already show the person. You use pronouns for emphasis or when they're objects of verbs/prepositions.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ego (I) | nōs (we) |
| Genitive | meī (of me) | nostrum/nostrī (of us) |
| Dative | mihi (to me) | nōbīs (to us) |
| Accusative | mē (me) | nōs (us) |
| Ablative | mē (by me) | nōbīs (by us) |
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | tū (you) | vōs (you all) |
| Genitive | tuī (of you) | vestrum/vestrī (of you all) |
| Dative | tibi (to you) | vōbīs (to you all) |
| Accusative | tē (you) | vōs (you all) |
| Ablative | tē (by you) | vōbīs (by you all) |
| Case | Masc. | Fem. | Neut. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | is | ea | id |
| Genitive | eius | eius | eius |
| Dative | eī | eī | eī |
| Accusative | eum | eam | id |
| Ablative | eō | eā | eō |
The genitive singular eius is the same for masculine, feminine, and neuter. Context tells you which. This word is the ancestor of many Romance language possessives.
Demonstratives point out specific things. Latin has three main ones, roughly matching English "this/that":
| Pronoun | Meaning | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| hic, haec, hoc | this (near the speaker) | Close / "this here" |
| ille, illa, illud | that (far from both) | Remote / "that over there" |
| iste, ista, istud | that (near the listener) | Medium / sometimes derogatory |
Ille often means "that famous…" in literature — ille vir could mean "that well-known man." It evolved into the definite articles of Romance languages: il/le (French), el (Spanish), il (Italian).
| Case | Masc. | Fem. | Neut. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. sg. | hic | haec | hoc |
| Gen. sg. | huius | huius | huius |
| Dat. sg. | huic | huic | huic |
| Acc. sg. | hunc | hanc | hoc |
| Abl. sg. | hōc | hāc | hōc |
| Nom. pl. | hī | hae | haec |
| Gen. pl. | hōrum / hārum / hōrum | ||
| Dat./Abl. pl. | hīs | ||
| Acc. pl. | hōs | hās | haec |
The relative pronoun introduces subordinate clauses — "the man who came," "the book which I read." It agrees with its antecedent in gender and number but takes its case from its role within its own clause.
| Case | Masc. | Fem. | Neut. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. sg. | quī | quae | quod |
| Gen. sg. | cuius | cuius | cuius |
| Dat. sg. | cui | cui | cui |
| Acc. sg. | quem | quam | quod |
| Abl. sg. | quō | quā | quō |
| Nom. pl. | quī | quae | quae |
| Gen. pl. | quōrum / quārum / quōrum | ||
| Dat./Abl. pl. | quibus | ||
| Acc. pl. | quōs | quās | quae |
Puella quam vidēs est soror mea.
The girl whom you see is my sister. (quam is accusative — object of vidēs)
Quis? Quid? — "Who? What?" These look very similar to the relative pronoun:
| Case | Masc./Fem. | Neuter |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | quis (who?) | quid (what?) |
| Genitive | cuius | cuius |
| Dative | cui | cui |
| Accusative | quem | quid |
| Ablative | quō | quō |
Latin prepositions govern either the accusative or the ablative case — never the nominative. A few special ones can take either case, with the case changing the meaning.
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ad | to, toward | ad urbem — to the city |
| in | into, onto (motion) | in urbem — into the city |
| per | through | per silvam — through the forest |
| trāns | across | trāns flūmen — across the river |
| ante | before, in front of | ante templum — before the temple |
| post | after, behind | post bellum — after the war |
| inter | between, among | inter amīcōs — among friends |
| prope | near | prope forum — near the forum |
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| in | in, on (location) | in urbe — in the city |
| ā/ab | from, by (agent) | ab amīcō — by a friend |
| ē/ex | out of, from | ex aquā — out of the water |
| cum | with | cum patre — with father |
| dē | about, down from | dē bellō — about the war |
| sine | without | sine metū — without fear |
| prō | for, on behalf of | prō patriā — for the fatherland |
| sub | under (location) | sub arbore — under the tree |
In urbem (acc.) = "into the city" (motion toward).
In urbe (abl.) = "in the city" (already there).
Same word, different case, completely different meaning! This is one of the most important distinctions in Latin.
Many Latin prepositions survive as English prefixes:
| Latin | English Prefix | Example Words |
|---|---|---|
| ad | ad- | adventure, advance, admit |
| per | per- | permeate, persist, perfect |
| trāns | trans- | transport, transfer, translate |
| inter | inter- | international, interrupt, intercept |
| ex | ex- | export, exclude, extract |
| cum | con-/com- | connect, combine, construct |
| prō | pro- | provide, promote, progress |
| sub | sub- | submarine, subject, subtract |
Which case does the preposition require?
1. What is the accusative singular form of the first person pronoun?
2. What is the difference between in urbem and in urbe?
3. Which Latin demonstrative evolved into the Romance language definite articles (le, el, il)?
✦ Personal pronouns (ego, tū, is/ea/id) are used for emphasis — verb endings already show person.
✦ Demonstratives: hic (this/near), ille (that/far), iste (that/near you).
✦ Relative pronoun quī/quae/quod agrees in gender/number with antecedent but takes case from its own clause.
✦ Prepositions govern accusative (motion/direction) or ablative (location/means).
✦ In + acc. = "into." In + abl. = "in." The case changes the meaning.