Kilo Lingo
Latin grammar

CEFR A2

3 min read

Test yourself (16 questions)

Latin ipse, idem and iste: Himself, the Same, That of Yours

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 11 October 2026

Three words finish the family of hic and ille: means himself, the very one; means the same; means that one of yours. Each agrees with its noun in gender, number and case, like hic and :

masculinefeminineneuterthe changed letterWhat do the colours mean?
WordMeaningExampleEnglish
(intens.)himself, very the king himself
the same the same road
that of yours that business of yours

Quick check

Now use it: three quick questions on the chart above. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Pick the word that fits the meaning in brackets.

  1. Rex venit. (the king himself)

  2. homo semper hoc dicit. (the same man)

  3. homo non bonus est. (that man of yours)

All three take the genitive in - and the dative in -i for every gender, as does with and .

ipse: himself, the very one

ipseMasc.Fem.Neut.
Nom sg
Acc sg
Gen sg
sg
Abl sg
Nom pl

The neuter is , ending like , not ipsud on the pattern of . The rest of the plural follows too, as in and .

stresses a noun or pronoun: this one and no other.

  • . - The king himself is coming.
  • . - I say it myself.
  • . - He comes on that very day.

ipse is not se

English uses himself for two different jobs, and Latin splits them. is reflexive: the subject does something to itself. only adds emphasis.

LatinEnglishJob
.The king sees himself.reflexive
.The king himself sees.emphasis
.The king himself sees himself.both

Ask what the himself is doing. If it only stresses who acts, and could go without changing what happens (the king himself is coming, the king is coming), it is . If it names the person the action is done to (the king sees himself), it is .

idem: is plus -dem

is the pronoun , , with - glued on. Two adjustments: the masculine nominative is (not ), and an m turns to n before the d:

eum + dem becomes eundem
idemMasc.Fem.Neut.
Nom sg
Acc sg
Gen sg
Abl sg
Gen pl

The dative singular is ; the masculine plural is or , and the dative and ablative plural or .

  • . - The same man always says this.
  • . - He comes at the same time.
  • . - I say the same thing.

iste: that one of yours

declines exactly like , with ist- in place of ill-:

isteMasc.Fem.Neut.
Nom sg
Acc sg
Nom pl

The genitive and dative singular are and . It points at what is near the person you are talking to:

  • . - That business of yours is not mine.
  • . - That man of yours is no good.

In Cicero's speeches against Verres, is how he refers to the defendant, that man of yours, and it drips. Textbooks often turn that into a rule that is always contemptuous. It is not: the tone comes from the context.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
as reflexive .reflexive himself is
ipsudthe neuter of ends like
eumdemthe standard spelling has n before d
as always ruderead the contextit means that of yours

What to do next

  1. Learn as plus -, saying and aloud.
  2. Run the drill below, then test every himself: does it stress the doer () or receive the action ()?
  3. Go back to hic and ille if any of the shared endings felt new, or on to the Latin pronouns.

Practise: test yourself

Pick the right one

0/4

Pick the word that fits the meaning in brackets.

  1. Rex venit. (the king himself)

  2. homo semper hoc dicit. (the same man)

  3. homo non bonus est. (that man of yours)

  4. Ego dico. (I myself)

Build the word

0/4

Build the form of idem: the form of is, then -dem.

  1. the same (masculine object)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. the same (feminine object)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. of the same (masculine plural)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. at the same (ablative, with tempore)

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Spot the mistake

0/3

One form does not agree with its noun. Tap it.

Matching

0/5

Match each phrase to its English.

Chapters 1 and 2 free

This article is one lesson in a whole course

Every grammar point has its own article and drill, and the course wraps them in graded stories, games and printable worksheets, in the order you need them.

Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.

Start learning free

Latin · Free printables

Practice worksheets and infographics

Practice worksheets with answer keys built in, plus infographic and listicle formats. Open any one to view, print or save.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

Frequently asked questions

What does mean in Latin?
Himself, herself, itself, or the very one, as an emphasis rather than a reflexive. is the king himself is coming, the king and no one else. is I say it myself. With a time word it means exactly or very: , on that very day.
What is the difference between and ?
emphasises a noun; points back to the subject as the object of the verb. is the king sees himself, where the king is both subject and object. is the king himself sees, where only stresses who is doing it. English uses himself for both, which is why learners mix them up.
How do you decline in Latin?
Take is, , and add -dem: , , in the nominative singular, in the genitive, in the ablative. Before the d an m becomes n, so the accusative is , , and the genitive plural , . The masculine nominative is rather than .
Does always sound contemptuous?
No. means that of yours, the thing near the person you are addressing, and that is its job in most texts. It picks up a sneer in Cicero's courtroom speeches, where he refers to his opponent Verres simply as , that man of yours. Many textbooks promote that into a general rule; read the context instead.
Is a demonstrative?
Grammarians usually call it an intensive pronoun, but it declines on the same pattern as the demonstratives and , with a genitive and a dative for every gender. The one form to watch is the neuter singular, , not ipsud: it ends like , while and end in -d.