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ego, tū, sē: personal and reflexive pronouns

I, you, we; "himself" and "themselves"; and mēcum, "with me".

LatinIntermediate Latin · PronounsAbout 4 min: 1 reading, 3 practiceUpdated

After this lesson you can
  • Decline ego, tū, nōs and vōs
  • Use sē for himself, herself, themselves
  • Attach cum to personal pronouns (mēcum, tēcum, nōbīscum)
Latin Level 2: verbs and the other declensions: lesson 27 of 35
  1. Intermediate Latin · Verbs: the present system
  2. sum: I am, I was, I shall be 3 min
  3. The present of amō and moneō 4 min
  4. The imperfect: was doing 4 min
  5. The future: will do 3 min
  6. The dative with adjectives 3 min
  7. The present of regō and audiō 4 min
  8. The imperfect of regō and audiō, and verbs that take the dative 3 min
  9. The future of regō and audiō 3 min
  10. capiō, and giving orders 3 min
  11. Intermediate Latin · The passive voice
  12. The passive: being done to 3 min
  13. The passive of regō, audiō and capiō; passive infinitives 3 min
  14. Synopses, and the ablative of "from" 3 min
  15. Intermediate Latin · The perfect tenses
  16. fuī, fueram, fuerō: the perfect tenses of sum 3 min
  17. The perfect active: did, have done 5 min
  18. Had done, will have done: pluperfect and future perfect active 3 min
  19. amātus sum: the perfect passive 4 min
  20. Principal parts, prepositions, and yes-or-no questions 5 min
  21. possum, "I can", and the infinitive 3 min
  22. Intermediate Latin · Pronouns
  23. quī, quae, quod: who, which, that 4 min
  24. Intermediate Latin · The third declension
  25. rēx, rēgis: the third declension 4 min
  26. hostis, urbs, mare: i-stems 4 min
  27. vīs and iter; gender in the third declension 4 min
  28. omnis, ācer, pār: third-declension adjectives 3 min
  29. Intermediate Latin · The fourth and fifth declensions
  30. manus, cornū: the fourth declension 3 min
  31. Rōmae, domī, Athēnīs: place and the locative 4 min
  32. diēs, rēs: the fifth declension and the ablative of time 3 min
  33. Intermediate Latin · Pronouns
  34. ego, tū, sē: personal and reflexive pronouns 4 min
  35. ipse, "himself", and īdem, "the same" 3 min
  36. hic, iste, ille: this and that 4 min
  37. aliquis, quīdam, quisque: someone, a certain, each 3 min
  38. Intermediate Latin · Comparison
  39. clārior, clārissimus: comparing adjectives 4 min
  40. melior, optimus: irregular comparison, plūs, and "by how much" 3 min
  41. clārē, fortiter: adverbs and their comparison 4 min
  42. Intermediate Latin · Numerals
  43. ūnus, duo, trēs: numerals, "of" the whole, and "for how long" 5 min
  44. Intermediate Latin · Deponent verbs
  45. hortor, sequor: deponent verbs 3 min

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Pairs with D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners (Ginn, 1909), Lesson XLIX ("Pronouns Classified · Personal and Reflexive Pronouns"), §§ 278–282

What it is

You already know the third-person pronoun: is, ea, id (he, she, it). The first and second persons are:

CaseIyou (one)
Nom.egotū
Gen.meītuī
Dat.mihitibi
Acc.mētē
Abl.mētē
Caseweyou (all)
Nom.nōsvōs
Gen.nostrum, nostrīvestrum, vestrī
Dat.nōbīsvōbīs
Acc.nōsvōs
Abl.nōbīsvōbīs

The verb ending already shows the subject, so ego and tū appear in the nominative only for emphasis or contrast: Ego labōrō, tū nōn labōrās. (I am working; you are not.)

Reflexive (himself, herself, itself, themselves): for the third person Latin has a special pronoun with no nominative, the same in singular and plural: suī, sibi, sē, sē. For the first and second persons the ordinary pronouns do the job.

  • Puer sē videt. → The boy sees himself.
  • Puellae sē vident. → The girls see themselves.
  • Videō mē. → I see myself.

With cum, the preposition is attached after the pronoun: mēcum (with me), tēcum, sēcum, nōbīscum, vōbīscum.

Quick check

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  1. "The soldier praises himself."

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    Mīles sē laudat.. Referring back to the subject: sē.

Why it matters

Every conversation in Latin needs "me", "to you", "with us". And sē versus eum is how Latin tells "he praises himself" from "he praises him".

Worked example

  • Mārcus mihi epistulam dedit. → Marcus gave me a letter.
  • Venī mēcum! → Come with me!
  • Lēgātus sē nōn laudat, sed mīlitēs. → The lieutenant does not praise himself, but the soldiers.

Common mistake

Using eum where the subject acts on itself: wrong: Puer eum videt for "the boy sees himself". Eum means some other person. Use the reflexive sē.

Key terms

ego, meī
I
tū, tuī
you (one person)
nōs, nostrum
we
vōs, vestrum
you (more than one)
suī, sibi, sē
himself, herself, itself, themselves
mēcum
with me

Practise the key terms

Tap a card to turn it over. 6 cards.

FrontBack
ego, meīI
tū, tuīyou (one person)
nōs, nostrumwe
vōs, vestrumyou (more than one)
suī, sibi, sēhimself, herself, itself, themselves
mēcumwith me

Practice

Quick quiz

Tap an answer to check it.

  1. "to me"

    Show answer

    mihi. Dative: mihi.

  2. "The girls see themselves."

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    Puellae sē vident.. Reflexive: sē.

  3. "with us"

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    nōbīscum. cum is attached: nōbīscum.

Recognition drill

Pick the right answer, as fast as you can.

All pairs

Tap a card to turn it over. 6 cards.

FrontBack
to you (one)tibi
us (object)nōs
with you (one)tēcum
to usnōbīs
me (object)mē
himself (object)sē

Practise speaking

Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.

You are a patient Latin tutor. Use the classical pronunciation only, never the Church one: c is always k, g is always hard, v sounds like w, ae like the ai in aisle, and long vowels are held longer. Speak slowly. Use only these Latin words: ego, mē, mihi, tū, tē, tibi, nōs, nōbīs, vōs, vōbīs, sē, mēcum, tēcum, puer, epistulam, mīlitēs, Mārcus, videt, vident, laudat, laudant, dedit, venī. Say English sentences like 'the boy sees himself', 'Marcus gave me a letter', 'come with me!' or 'the soldiers praise themselves', and I will say them in Latin. Do 8 sentences. After each answer, tell me what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again, then tell me one thing to improve. Keep every reply under 2 sentences. If I need a name or a town, I will make one up. Speak English except for the Latin itself.

Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.

Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. This course teaches the classical pronunciation (see lesson 1); AI voices may mix it with the Church (Italian-style) one, so ask for classical and check against lesson 1. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.

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In short

  • ego/mē/mihi; tū/tē/tibi; nōs/nōbīs; vōs/vōbīs.
  • Nominative ego, tū only for emphasis.
  • Reflexive 3rd person: suī, sibi, sē (no nominative; singular = plural).
  • cum is attached: mēcum, tēcum, sēcum, nōbīscum, vōbīscum.

Mastery check

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Check yourself

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  1. Give "to you (plural)".

    Show answer

    vōbīs.

  2. Translate Rēx sē laudat.

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    The king praises himself.

  3. What is the difference between sē and eum in "he sees …"?

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    Sē is himself (the subject); eum is someone else.

Further reading

  • D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners, Lesson XLIX, §§ 278–282. Public domain; Project Gutenberg.