26
Demonstrative Pronouns
1. οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο
We have already learned the demonstrative pronouns ἐκεῖνος ἐκείνη ἐκεῖνο (that/those) and ὅδε ἥδε τόδε (this/these). Our final demonstrative pronoun is an important one, and the most common of them all: οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο (this/these).
The endings of this pronoun are familiar; it is inflected as a FIRST and SECOND DECLENSION pronoun. The accent falls on the PENULT, and follows persistent accent rules.
The inflection of this pronoun, however, exhibits important changes to the stem, namely:
- An initial τ– is added to the stem of all forms EXCEPT for the NOMINATIVE MASCULINE and FEMININE, both SINGULAR and PLURAL, which instead use a ROUGH BREATHING. Note that this pattern is identical to that of the definite article.
- The stem (τ)ουτ– changes to (τ)αυτ– if the case ending includes either an η or an α. Note how this changes the inflection of the neuter plural!
Memorization of this pronoun’s inflection pattern is a must. It is extremely common, and if you do not recognize a particular inflected form, looking up the word in a lexicon presents a challenge: it appears alphabetically in vocabulary lists under the masculine nominative singular form οὗτος!
οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο this/these (S 333; GPH p. 48)
Singular:
| M | F | N | |
| Nominative | οὗτος | αὕτη | τοῦτο |
| Genitive | τούτου | ταύτης | τούτου |
| Dative | τούτῳ | ταύτῃ | τούτῳ |
| Accusative | τοῦτον | ταύτην | τοῦτο |
Plural:
| M | F | N | |
| Nominative | οὗτοι | αὗται | ταῦτα |
| Genitive | τούτων | τούτων | τούτων |
| Dative | τούτοις | ταύταις | τούτοις |
| Accusative | τούτους | ταύτας | ταῦτα |
Like other demonstrative pronouns, οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο can serve as an ADJECTIVE, though always in PREDICATE POSITION.
For example:
- οἱ ἄρχοντες διδόασι τὴν ἐλπίδα τοῖς παισίν.
- The rulers give hope to the children.
- οὗτοι διδόασι τὴν ἐλπίδα τοῖς παισὶ τούτοις.
- These (men) give hope to these children.
οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο vs. ὅδε ἥδε τόδε
Notice that the English definitions for οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο and ὅδε ἥδε τόδε are the same: this/these. While they translate similarly in written English, there sometimes can be a subtle distinction between the two. In general (though there are plenty of exceptions):
- οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο refers generally and unemphatically to what is already known
- ὅδε ἥδε τόδε refers to what is near (this here table), or about to follow
For example:
- τοῦτο λέγω.
I am telling you this (what I just said). - λέγω τόδε.
I am telling you this (what I am about to say).
2. τοιοῦτος τοιαύτη τοιοῦτο
Adding the prefix τοι– makes οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο refer to the quality of someone or something: this type, this kind or this sort (of). The inflection of this pronoun exhibits the following pattern:
- The prefix τοι– is added to all forms, and replaces the initial τ found in some inflected forms of οὗτος αὕτη τοῦτο.
- The stem τοιουτ– changes to τοιαυτ– if the case ending includes either an η or an α.
- The persistent accent is on the penult.
τοιοῦτος τοιαύτη