LESSON XVII

THE DEMONSTRATIVE IS, EA, ID

  [Special Vocabulary]

NOUNS agri:  cultu:ra, -ae\, f., _agriculture_ Gallia, -ae\, f., Gaul domicili:um, domi:ci’li:\, n., _dwelling place_ (domicile), _abode_ Gallus, -i\, m., a Gaul lacrima, -ae\, f., _tear_ fe:mina, -ae\, f., woman (female) numerus, -i:\, m., _number_ (numeral)

  ADJECTIVE
  ma:tu:rus, -a, -um\, ripe, mature

  ADVERB
   quo:, whither

  VERBS
   arat, he (she, it) plows (arable)
  de:si:derat\, _he (she, it) misses, longs for_ (desire), with acc.

  CONJUNCTION
  an\, _or_, introducing the second half of a double question, as
    _Is he a Roman or a Gaul_, Estne Romanus an Gallus?\

112. A demonstrative is a word that points out an object definitely, as this, that, these, those.  Sometimes these words are pronouns, as, Do you hear these? and sometimes adjectives, as, Do you hear these men? In the former case they are called demonstrative pronouns\, in the latter demonstrative adjectives\.

113. Demonstratives are similarly used in Latin both as pronouns and as adjectives.  The one used most is

  is\, masculine; ea\, feminine; id\, neuter
  SINGULAR:  _this, that_; PLURAL:  _these, those_

114. Is\ is declined as follows.  Compare its declension with that of alius\, Sec. 109.

BASE e-

SINGULAR PLURAL
MASC.  FEM.  NEUT.  MASC.  FEM.  NEUT. 
Nom. is ea id ei:  eae ea
(or ii:)
Gen. eius eius eius eo:rum ea:rum eo:rum
Dat. ei:  ei:  ei:  ei:s ei:s ei:s
(or ii:s ii:s ii:s)
Acc. eum eam id eo:s ea:s ea
Abl. eo:  ea:  eo:  ei:s ei:s ei:s
(or ii:s ii:s ii:s)

Note that the base e- changes to i- in a few cases.  The genitive singular eius\ is pronounced _eh’yus_.  In the plural the forms with two i\’s are preferred and the two i\’s are pronounced as one.  Hence, pronounce ii:\ as i:\ and ii:s\ as i:s\.

115. Besides being used as demonstrative pronouns and adjectives the Latin demonstratives are regularly used for the personal pronoun he, she, it.  As a personal pronoun, then, is\ would have the following meanings: 

  SINGULAR
  Nom. is, he; ea, she; id, it
  Gen. eius, of him or his;
       eius, of her, her, or hers;
       eius, of it or its
  Dat. ei:, to or for him;
       ei:, to or for her;