Chapter XIX: Forum Appiī      Back to Chapter 19 contents

Demonstratives: hic and ille



You have seen the words hic haec hoc and ille illa illud many times in this text. These words are demonstratives, and they can function both as adjectives and pronouns:

Nescīvī hunc.
I didn't know this (man).
I didn't know him.
Here, hunc is being used as a pronoun.
"Man" is implied because hunc is masculine.

Spectāvī illum equum.
I saw that horse.
I didn't know him.
Here, illum acts an adjective, modifying equum.

Hic and ille decline very much like is ea id, although hic has some unusual endings. Let's look at ille first.

m.

f.

n.

Singular

Nom

ille

illa

illud

Gen

illius

illius

illius

Dat

illī

illī

illī

Acc

illum

illam

illud

Abl

illō

illā

illō

Plural

Nom

illī

illae

illa

Gen

illōrum

illārum

illōrum

Dat

illīs

illīs

illīs

Acc

illōs

illās

illa

Abl

illīs

illīs

illīs

Note that, like is ea id, the genitive ends in ius and the dative in ī (in all three genders). This is the "universal genitive and dative."

Hic is declined very much the same, except that a final c often appears. (The sound of c or k often appears in the Indo-European language groups as a sign that someone is trying to point something out. In archaic Latin, we also see a forms like hōsce, but those gradually disappeared.) The m in the accusative singular morphs into an n. If you want to understand why, try saying humc vs. hunc.

m.

f.

n.

Singular

Nom

hic

haec

hoc

Gen

huius

huius

huius

Dat

huīc

huīc

huīc

Acc

hunc

hanc

hoc

Abl

hōc

hāc

hōc

Plural

Nom

hae

haec

Gen

hōrum

hārum

hōrum

Dat

hīs

hīs

hīs

Acc

hōs

hās

haec

Abl

hīs

hīs

hīs