Translation
he; she; it; that one
Test yourself on is
Three quick questions. No account needed.
Know this word? Create a free account to track it.
Examples
.
He is my brother.
.
I saw him yesterday.
.
That woman is well known.
.
I do not understand that.
.
His book is at my house.
is, , is the workhorse third-person pronoun. Latin has no dedicated word for "he, she, it", so this is what fills the gap, and its great virtue is that it is colourless: it points back to somebody already mentioned rather than pointing anything out. That is what separates it from , which carries a "that one over there" flavour, and from , "this one here".
Learn it by case, because the case is chosen by the pronoun's job in the sentence: nominative is, , ; accusative , , ; genitive for all three genders, which is how Latin says "his", "her" and "its"; dative ; ablative , . The plural runs (or ), eae, , with and in the genitive and (or ) in the dative and ablative. The same forms double as a weak demonstrative adjective agreeing with a noun, as in is , "that man".
Where this fits
Used in
Stories
(9)Bene fecisti!
1 min read · Core 1000
Carmina mea
2 min read · Core 1000
In principio erat Verbum
2 min read · Core 5000
Nemo melior
2 min read · Core 1000
Si tuleritis
2 min read · Core 1000
Parvo pretio
3 min read · Core 1000
Odi et amo
3 min read · Core 5000
Inter sepulcra
3 min read · Core 1000
Gallia est omnis divisa
5 min read · Core 5000
Grammar articles
(54)The Latin Ablative Absolute: urbe capta, signo dato
The Latin Ablative Case and Its Many Uses
Latin Adjectives and Agreement: bonus, bona, bonum
Latin Adjectives as Nouns: boni, omnia, multa
The Ave Maria: the Hail Mary in Latin, Word by Word
Biblical Latin: How to Read the Vulgate as a Learner
Latin Cases: What Each of the Six Cases Does (Chart)
Church Latin Pronunciation: Every Rule vs Classical
Latin Comparatives and Superlatives: altior, optimus
Latin Conditional Sentences: si, nisi and the Subjunctive
Latin Connectors: tamen, quamquam, ergo, igitur and autem
Latin cum Clauses: when, since and although
Latin Declensions: Chart of All Five and How to Spot Them
Latin Demonstratives: Hic, Haec, Hoc and Ille Charts
Latin Fearing Clauses: timeo ne, timeo ut and ne non
Latin Fero: ferre, tuli, latum, Its Meanings and Compounds
Latin Fourth and Fifth Declensions: manus, res, dies
Latin Future, Pluperfect and Future Perfect
The Latin Genitive and Dative in Practice
Latin Gerunds and Gerundives: ars amandi, delenda est
The Gloria and Sanctus in Latin, Word by Word
Latin Greetings and Survival Phrases: Say Something Today
Latin Imperative: Commands like dic, fac, venite
Latin Imperfect Tense: -bam, -bas, -bat and eram
Latin Indirect Commands: ut and ne with the Subjunctive
Latin Indirect Questions: Question Word plus Subjunctive
Latin Infinitives and Indirect Statement: dicit regem venire
Latin Interjections and Conversation Words: heus, ecce, edepol
Latin Question Words: quis, quid, ubi, cur
Latin ipse, idem and iste: Himself, the Same, That of Yours
Latin Irregular Verbs: sum, possum, eo, fero, volo, nolo, malo
Latin Mass Responses: The Full Text, With Literal English
Latin Phrases Used in English: 30 You Already Say
Latin Tattoo Phrases: Grammatical Ones and Famous Mistakes
40 Latin Legal Terms and the Grammar Inside Them
Latin Numbers Grammar: Which Decline, Milia, and 18 and 19
Latin Ordinal Numbers: primus, secundus, tertius
Latin Participles: amans, amatus, amaturus
Latin Passive Periphrastic: Carthago delenda est
The Latin Passive and Deponent Verbs: amatur, locutus sum
The Pater Noster: the Our Father in Latin, Word by Word
Latin Perfect and Pluperfect Subjunctive: amaverim, amavissem
The Latin Perfect: dixi, feci, fui
Latin Principal Parts: Why Verbs Have Four Forms
Latin Pronouns Chart: ego, is, hic, ille and qui
Latin Purpose, Result and cum Clauses: ut, ne and cum
Latin Relative Pronoun: qui, quae, quod and How It Agrees
Scientific Latin: How to Read a Species Name
Latin Slang: How Romans Actually Spoke
The Latin Subjunctive: amet, amaret, sit, esset
The Latin Third Declension: rex, corpus, urbs, mare
Latin Verb Endings Chart: -o, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt
Latin Word Order: Free, But Not Random
Latin Yes-No Questions: -ne, nonne and num
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Meet this word in a story
Every course has graded stories written only with words you have been taught, plus grammar drills, a games arcade and printable worksheets. Chapters 1 and 2 are free.
Chapters 1 and 2 free, forever. Plus: 7 days free, then $5 a month for all eleven languages.
Latin · Free printables
is: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "is" (he; she; it; that one): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
This word is taught in chapter 1, lesson 7: is, tu, pro and 10 more words.