OTHER PRONOUNS
(iv) Latin has personal pronouns, words for I, you, we, and you plural. They are ego, tu, nos, and vos respectively; they vary in their forms (me, nobis, tibi are all forms you will meet), but are quite straightforward otherwise. The one to watch is the reflexive pronoun, se. This pronoun always refers to the subject of the sentence, no matter if that subject is singular or plural, and it needs to be sharply distinguished from is, ea, id. Study some examples which try to illustrate what I mean:
amat eum She loves him
amat se She loves herself
amant eos They love those guys
amant se They love themselves
(v) Latin also has an emphatic pronoun which it uses more often that English does. This word is ipse, ipsa, ipsum, and its form are very similar to those of is, ea, id. In Latin it does a job which we can express in different ways in English, and which can be quite subtle. “You’re the very man I was looking for.” “I’ll do it myself.” “I love him (as opposed to someone else).”
(vi) Latin also has an alternative version of ille which has its origins as a pointer word meaning “that (person/thing) near you.” That word is iste, ista, istud, and it sometimes has a derogatory force, for when Cicero is attacking his enemies, or when you just don’t like someone. You can have a bit of fun in conveying the particular quality of this derogatory force in translation. “That (eejit) over there ….”
(vii) Lastly there is a version of is, ea, id which means “the same (man, woman, thing etc).” That word is idem, eadem, idem, the forms of which are similar to is, ea, id. Consider this non-essential, at least until you’ve mastered the other eight pronouns above.