FM: Lesson - Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive Pronouns

In early Latin, the Romans used a regular personal pronoun for the 3rd person that was very similar to the 1st and 2nd person personal pronouns: it did not demonstrate gender, could not use its genitive for possession and added the -cum enclitic. Over time, the weak demonstrative is, ea, id took over the use of this pronoun because it showed gender. However, instead of disappearing entirely, the original 3rd person personal pronoun became a reflexive pronoun, which is used when referring back to the subject. Here are the forms of the 3rd person reflexive pronoun:

Latin Reflexive Pronoun se
Case Singular Plural
Nominative NONE NONE
Genitive sui sui
Dative sibi sibi
Accusative se (sese) se (sese)
Ablative se (sese) se (sese)

There are no nominative forms because these pronouns are only used to refer back to a subject, so cannot be used as the subject. The singular and plural use the same forms. Accusative and Ablative can double up to be either se or sese. 

Other Reflexive Pronouns

1st and 2nd Person pronouns do not have unique forms for the reflexive, but instead just use the personal pronoun forms. Below are examples of reflexive pronouns, in various cases and persons.

  1. Accusative, 1st person singular:
    • Me videre possum.
    • I can see myself.
  2. Accusative, 2nd person singular:
    • Ama te!
    • Love yourself.
  3. Accusative, 3rd person singular:
    • Brutus se interfecit.
    • Brutus killed himself.
  4. Ablative, 1st person plural:
    • Nobiscum dicebamus.
    • We were talking with ourselves.
  5. Genitive, 2nd person plural:
    • Multos vestrum indicavistis.
    • You accused many of your own.
      • remember, personal pronouns can be used as a partitive genitive
  6. Dative, 3rd person plural:
    • Sibi potestatem dederant.
    • They had given themselves power.