Latin for Beginners · Lesson LI · Part 10: Pronouns
51. The demonstratives hic, iste, ille
Goal: Your child declines hic, iste and ille and uses them for 'this', 'that of yours' and 'that over there'.
You'll need
- The book: the lesson pages, plus the special vocabulary at the back of the book
- A notebook and pencil
- Index cards for new words
What's in the book
How hic, iste and ille differ from is (§ 290), the declension of hic (§ 291) and of iste and ille (§ 292), model sentences (§ 293), a German chief's speech to his men, seven English sentences, and How Horatius held the Bridge, continued (§ 295). Vocabulary on page 295.
The lesson, step by step
Warm up
Your child declines ipse and īdem in the singular.
The new idea
is just means 'he, that'. These three point more exactly:
hic: this (near me)
iste: that (near you)
ille: that (over there)
hic, haec, hoc, demonstrative pronoun, this (of mine); he, she, it
ille, illa, illud, demonstrative pronoun, that (yonder); he, she, it
iste and ille decline like ipse, except for istud and illud.
Say the forms aloud
Read hic across the book's table: hic, haec, hoc; huius; huic; hunc, hanc, hoc; hōc, hāc, hōc. The book notes that huius sounds like 'hoo-yoos' and huic is one syllable. Then the plural.
Vocabulary
Page 295. Some of the words:
lībertās, -ātis, f., liberty
nōmen, nōminis, n., name (nominate)
oculus, -ī, m., eye (oculist)
vōx, vōcis, f., voice
Latin to English
Read the chief's speech. Two of its sentences:
Ad arma vōs vocō.
Exercēte istam prīstinam virtūtem et vincētis.
For each demonstrative, ask: this, or that, and whose?
English to Latin
Write the seven sentences. The words in parentheses, like '(of yours)' and '(yonder)', tell you which demonstrative to use; don't translate them.
Wrap-up
Your child declines hic from memory. Memorize hic, iste, ille and the new words. Read the next part of the Horatius story on another day.
Afterwards
Day two: the Horatius reading (§ 295).
Tip
Point at things while you say them: hic liber (this book, in my hand), iste liber (that book, near you), ille liber (that book over there).
Answers to the book's problems
The speech's sentences are not numbered in the book. Two long sentences are left out here. That brave leader of the Germans called his men together and in this way encouraged them. ... If we are brave, the gods themselves will show us the way of safety. That sun and those eyes of yours have seen our disasters. And so the name of that Roman republic is hateful not only to us but also to all men who love liberty. I call you to arms. Practice that old-time courage of yours and you will conquer.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.