pronoundemonstrative pronoun
is
is (feminine ea, neuter id)
Classical[ˈɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈis]
eius sg. gen.№ 13 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- demonstrativepronounthis or that man, woman or thing; he, she, it, they (previously introduced)
Q RAVEL[I]O [Q F - - -] P COMINIO P F L MALIO C F QUAISTORES SENATU D [I R F?] CONSULERE IEI[S] CENSUERE AUT SACROM AUT POUBLICOM ESE - - - - - - [- - - SE]NATU CONSOLTU DE[- - -] AUT SACROM AUT POUBLIC[OM] LOCOM ESE O[MNES?- - -] CENSURE
Quintus Ravelius, [son of Quintus; - - -]; Publius Cominius, son of Publius; [and] Lucius Mallius, son of Gaius, quaestors, decreed that the Senate be consulted by them concerning [this matter to be done?], [and] that [it] be either sacred or public. - - - - - - [- - -] by decree of the Senate concerning [- - -] that the place be either sacred or public, [all?- - -] decreed.Gianfranco Purpura, editor (2012), “Decreta decurionum: Sulla presenza di decreta decurionum nella pars tertia, negotia, dei Fontes Iuris Romani Antejustiniani (A. Parma)”, in Revisione ed integrazione dei Fontes Iuris Romani Anteiustiniani (FIRA): Studi preparatori (Fontes; 3.1) (in Italian), volume I (Leges), Turin: G. Giappichelli Editore, →ISBN, archived from the original on 12 Aug 2026, page 225 - demonstrativepronounPicks up the subject or object after an intervening clause, to avoid repeating the relative pronoun quī, or substitutes syntactically fronted expressions
- anaphoricdemonstrativepronounof such a nature, degree, kind (previously mentioned or implied)
- demonstrativepronounthe following; of the following nature, degree, kind
- demonstrativedeterminerpronounthis or that [man, woman or thing] (as a noun phrase modifier)
- demonstrativepronounsuch a, that sort of
eiusmodī sermōnēs
talk of that kind[…]'urbīs' an 'urbēs'. Nam cum id genus sīs, quod videō, ut sine iactūrā tuā peccēs, nihil perdēs utrum dīxeris. […] 'urbīs' or 'urbēs'. For as far as I can see, you're the kind of man who doesn't lose sleep over his mistakes; as such you'll lose nothing whichever one you use.
Marcus Valerius Probus, Fragmenta 66.29 - demonstrativepronounSubstituting a clause.
quod eius fierī possit
as far as [any of that is] possible - demonstrativepronounAs an internal accusative: for that reason, on that account
idque gaudeō
and I'm glad about that - demonstrativepronounUsed in various prepositional phrases.
In the readers how our graded readers gloss it
he, she, it
is, ea, id — in De Bello Gallico I
he, she, it; that
is, ea, id — in De Bello Gallico II and De Bello Gallico III
his
eius — in Seneca, ch. VII
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | is | ea | id |
| genitive | eius | eius | eius |
| dative | eī | eī eae | eī |
| accusative | eum | eam | id |
| ablative | eō | eā | eō |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | iī eī, ī | eae | ea |
| genitive | eōrum eum | eārum | eōrum eum |
| dative | iīs eīs, īs, ībus | iīs eīs, īs, eābus | iīs eīs, īs |
| accusative | eōs | eās | ea |
| ablative | iīs eīs, īs | iīs eīs, īs | iīs eīs, īs |
is, ĕa, id (m. eis, C. I. L. 1, 198; n. it, ib. 5, 875 al., and freq. in MSS. of Plaut.),
I. gen. ējus (old form eiius, C. I. L. 3, 1365 et saep.; v. Prisc. 1, 4, 18, p. 545;
also etius, ib. 2, 1276 al.; scanned ĕius, Plaut. Poen. 4, 2, 60; Ter. Eun. 1, 2, 51; v. Lachm. ad Lucr. 3, 374; also Cic. poët. N. D. 2, 42, 109: eius, monosyl., Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 206; Ter. Eun. 4, 1, 7 et saep.; dat. ĕï, in ante-class. poetry often ēi, Plaut. Most. 4, 2, 32; Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 46; Lucr. 2, 1136; 5, 300: eiei, C. I. L. 1, 198, 12 al.: eei, Inscr. Neap. 2423: iei, C. I. L. 1, 205, col. 2, 12 al.: ei, monosyl., Plaut. Capt. 2, 3, 68; id. Trin. 1, 2, 138 et saep.; Cat. 82, 3; cf. Prisc. 7, 5, 21, p. 740; Lachm. ad Lucr. 3, 374: eo, Inscr. Murat. 582; f. eae, Plaut. Mil. 2, 3, 77 Ritschl; Cato, R. R. 46, 1; v. Varr. L. L. 8, 28, 51; acc. im for eum, Lex ap. Cic. Leg. 2, 24, 60; Charis. 1, 17, p. 107 sq.; Paul. ex Fest. p. 103; also em, Tab. XII., tab. 1, fr. 1.— Plur. nom. m. ĕi, Plaut. Mil. 2, 4, 32; id. Stich. 1, 3, 47; Ter. Ad. prol. 23; but in the MSS. ii; Cic. de Or. 1, 19, 87 et saep.: eei, Inscr. Neap. 2423, 8: iei, C. I. L. 1, 185; Varr. L. L. 9, 1, 2 al.; but ī, Plaut. Trin. prol. 17; id. Mil. 3, 1, 158 al.; v. Ritschl prol. p. 98; gen. eum for eorum, Inscr. Murat. 582, 2; dat. and abl. eīs or iīs, also īs, C. I. L. 1, 198, 48; Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 140, and freq. in MSS.: eis, monosyl., Ter. And. 1, 1, 36; id. Eun. 5, 8, 59 al.; v. Lachm. ad Lucr. 4, 934: ieis, C. I. L. 1, 204, col. 1, 5 al.; old form also ībus, Plaut. Mil. 1, 74; id. Truc. 1, 2, 17: ĭbus, Titin. et Pomp. ap. Non. p. 486; Lucr. 2, 88; cf. S. C. ap. Gell. 4, 6, 2; v. Lachm. l. l.; f. eābus, Cato, R. R. 152; cf. Prisc. 7, 3, 11, p. 733; v. more on these forms, Neue, Formenl. 2, 191-196), pron. demonstr. [root i-; Sanscr. itas; hence, i-ha, here; cf. i-bi, i-ta, i-dem, etc.]. I. He, she, it; this or that man, woman, thing.
A. Referring to something already mentioned, in gen.
1. Referring to the third person:
fuit quidam senex Mercator: navem is fregit apud Andrum insulam: Is obiit mortem, Ter. And. 1, 3, 16: venit mihi obviam tuus puer: is mihi litteras abs te reddidit, Cic. Att. 2, 1, 1: objecit ut probrum nobiliori, quod is, etc., id. Tusc. 1, 2, 3.—2. Of the first person:
ego me credidi Homini docto rem mandare: is lapidi mando maxumo, Plaut. Merc. 3, 4, 47: haec omnia is feci, qui sodalis Dolabellae eram, Cic. Fam. 12, 14; Sen. Ep. 63 al. —3. Of the second person:
qui magister equitum fuisse tibi viderere, is per municipia cucurristi, Cic. Phil. 2, 30.—B. Esp.
1. In connection with a noun:
ea re, quia turpe sit, faciendum non esse, Cic. Off. 3, 13: ea res ut est Helvetiis enuntiata, etc., Caes. B. G. 1, 4: ne ob eam rem tribueret, etc., id. ib. 1, 13: flumen est Arar ... id flumen, etc., id. ib. 1, 12: sub id tempus, Liv. 43, 5: ejus disputationis sententias memoriae mandavi, Cic. Lael. 1, 3: ante eam diem, id. Att. 2, 11, 2: ea tempestate, Sall. C. 36, 4: quam urbem is rex condidit, Plin. 6, 17, 21, § 61.—2. When is, ea, id would stand in the same case with the relative it is usually omitted; when the relative precedes, it is sometimes employed for emphasis:
male se res habet, cum, quod virtute effici debet, id temptatur pecuniā, Cic. Off. 2, 6, 22. — 3. Connected with que and quidem, it gives prominence to a preceding idea:
cum una legione eaque vacillante, and that, Cic. Phil. 3, 12, 31: inprimis nobis sermo isque multus de te fuit, id. Att. 5, 1, 3: tuus dolor humanus is quidem, sed, etc., id. ib. 12, 10: vincula et ea sempiterna, id. Cat. 4, 4, 7: certa flagitiis merces, nec ea parva, id. Phil. 2, 18, 44.— 4. It is sometimes used instead of the reflexive pronoun:
Helvetii persuadent Rauracis, ut una cum iis (for secum) proficiscantur, Caes. B. G. 1, 5: Caesar etiam privatas injurias ultus est, quod ejus soceri avum Tigurini interfecerant, id. ib. 1, 12. — 5. It is sometimes placed, for greater emphasis, after a relative:
multitudinem, quae fortunis vestris imminebat, eam ... se fecisse commemorat, ut, etc., Cic. Mil. 35, 95; cf.: urbem novam conditam vi et armis, jure eam legibusque de integro condere parat, Liv. 1, 19, 1.— C. Id, n., to designate an idea in the most general manner, that (thing, fact, thought, circumstance, etc.).
1. In gen.:
quando verba vana ad id locorum fuerint, rebus standum esse, hitherto, till now, Liv. 9, 45, 2; so, ad id (sc. tempus), id. 3, 22: ad id diei, Gell. 17, 8: ad id quod natura cogeret, i. e. death, Nep. Att. 22, 2: id temporis, at that time, Cic. Mil. 10, 28; id. Cat. 4, 1, 10: id. Att. 13, 33: id aetatis, at that age, id. de Or. 1, 47; cf. Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 37, § 91.—2. Esp.
(a). Id, therefore, for that reason, on that account:
id ego gaudeo, Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 3: id misera maesta est, Plaut. Rud. 2, 3, 66: idne estis auctores mihi? do you advise me to that? Ter. Ad. 5, 8, 16.—(g). Ad id, for that purpose:
ad id quod sua quemque mala cogebant, evocati, Liv. 3, 7, 8: ad id quod = praeterquam quod, besides that: consul ad id, quod, etc., tunc quoque, etc., id. 44, 37, 12; 3, 62, 1; 26, 45, 8 al.—(d). In id, to that end, on that account, therefore:
in id fide a rege accepta, Liv. 28, 17.—(ε) In eo est, it is gone so far, is at that pass: quod ad me de Lentulo scribis, non est in eo, it is not come to that, is not so, Cic. Att. 12, 40: cum jam in eo esset, ut in muros evaderet miles, when the soldiers were just on the point of scaling the walls, Liv. 2, 17, 5; 28, 22, 8; Nep. Milt. 7, 3: in eo est, also, it consists in that, depends upon that: totum in eo est tectorium, ut sit concinnum, Cic. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 1, § 1: ejus omnis oratio versata est in eo, ut, etc., id. de Or. 1, 57, 254: sic velim enitare quasi in eo mihi sint omnia, id. Fam. 15, 14.— (ζ) Ex eo, from that, hence: sed tamen ex eo, quod eam voluptatem videtur amplexari saepe vehementius, etc., Cic. Fin. 2, 9. — (η) Cum eo, ut (with subj.), with the condition or stipulation that, etc., Liv. 8, 14.— (θ) Eo, adverbially, with the comp., so much, by so much; but frequently to be expressed in English by the, Cic. Quint. 9; so id. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 5.—D. Sometimes is refers to the foll. substantive, instead of to the preceding relative:
quae vectigalia locasset, ea rata locatio (for eorum), Liv. 23, 11: ea libera conjectura est (for de hac re), id. 4, 20: quae pars major erit, eo stabitur consilio (for ejus), id. 7, 35: existit ea, quae gemma dicitur, Cic. de Sen. 15.—Sometimes, for emphasis, it is placed before the relative quod, to represent a thought or clause: ratus, id quod negotium poscebat, Jugurtham venturum, Sall. J. 56, 1; id. C. 51, 20: sive ille hoc ingenio potuisset, sive, id quod constaret, Platonis studiosus audiendi fuisset, Cic. de Or. 1, 20, 89: si nos, id quod debet, nostra patria delectat, id. ib. 1, 44, 196: si, id quod facile factu fuit, vi armisque superassem, id. Sest. 17, 39; 13, 30; so, id quo, id. Inv. 1, 26, 39: id de quo, Liv. 21, 10, 9. — It is thus apparently pleonastic after substantives: Octavio Mamilio—is longe princeps Latini nominis erat ...—ei Mamilio filiam nuptum dat, Liv. 1, 49, 9: cultrum, quem habebat, eum defigit, id. 1, 58, 11; cf. id. 3, 58, 1.—It is rarely pleonastic after the relative: quod ne id facere posses, idcirco dixeram, Cic. Ac. 2, 25, 79 dub. (B. and K. bracket id). — II. He, she, it; that man or the man (woman, thing), the one, that one, as a correlative to qui:
si is, qui erit adductus, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 89, § 207: is mihi profecto servus spectatus satis, Cui dominus curae est, Ter. Ad. 5, 6, 5. And also in the first person: haec tibi scribo ... is, qui flevi, Sen. Ep. 1.—III. Such, of such a sort, character, or quality:
in eum jam rediit locum, ut, etc., Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 118: neque enim tu is es, qui, quid sis, nescias, Cic. Fam. 5, 12, 6; 4, 7, 2: itaque ego is in illum sum, quem tu me esse vis, id. Att. 7, 8, 1: is eram natus ... ut potuerim, Liv. 7, 40, 8.—Adj.: nec tamen eas cenas quaero, ut magnae reliquiae fiant, Cic. Fam. 9, 16, 8; id. Clu. 70: quae causae sunt ejus modi, ut de earum jure dubium esse non possit, id. de Or. 1, 57, 241: est enim credo is vir iste, ut civitatis nomen sua auctoritate sustineat, id. Fl. 15, 34. — B. Such, so great, of so high a degree:
L. Mescinius ea mecum consuetudine conjunctus est, quod mihi quaestor fuit, Cic. Fam. 13, 26, 1.—Hence, advv. 1. ĕā (sc. parte, viā, etc.), on that side, by that way, there:
quod eā proxime accedi poterat, Cic. Caecin. 8, 21: itinera muniit: effecit ut eā elephantus ornatus ire posset, quā antea, etc., Nep. Ham. 3 fin.: postquam comperit, transitum eā non esse, Liv. 21, 32, 9; 5, 43, 2; 24, 2 fin.; 26, 11 fin.; 27, 15 fin. al. — 2. ĕō, v. 2. eo.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
is ea, id, gen. ēius (sometimes monosyl. in poetry), dat. ēī (rarely eī or monosyl. ei), pron. demonst.
2 I-.
I. I. As a weak demonst. in simple reference.—As subst, he, she, it, the one mentioned (without emphasis): fuit quidam senex Mercator: navem is fregit, T.: venit mihi obviam tuus puer; is mihi litteras abs te reddidit: sine eius offensione animi, hurting his feelings, Cs.—As adj., this, that, the: ea res est Helvetiis enuntiata, Cs.: flumen est Arar . . . id flumen, etc., Cs.: ante eam diem.—
II. II. Special uses.—Attracted to the following subst: exsistit ea quae gemma dicitur (i. e. id, quod): quae pars maior erit, eo stabitur consilio (i. e. eius), L.—Pleonast.—After an obj subst.: urbem novam, conditam vi et armis, iure eam condere parat, L.—In the phrase, id quod, referring to a fact, thought, or clause: ratus, id quod negotium poscebat, as the situation required, S.: id quod necesse erat accidere, just as was unavoidable, Cs.: si nos, id quod debet, nostra patria delectat, and it must be the case; cf. id de quo, L. —With et, que, atque, neque, in explanation or climax, and that too, and in fact: inquit . . . et id clariore voce, and that, Cs.: cum unā legione eāque vacillante: vincula et ea sempiterna: legio, neque ea plenissima, and not even, Cs.—In place of the reflexive pronoun: persuadent Rauracis, uti unā cum iis proficiscantur (i. e. secum), Cs.—With emphasis, as correlative to qui, he, she, it, that, the one, that one: is, qui erit adductus: haec omnia is feci, qui sodalis Dolabellae eram: qui magister equitum fuisse tibi viderere, is cucurristi, etc.— Neut. as subst, that: idne estis auctores mihi? do you advise me to that? T.: quibus id consili fuisse, ut, etc., who had formed the plan, Cs.: quando verba vana ad id locorum fuerint, hitherto, L.: ad id quod natura cogeret, i. e. death, N.: id temporis, at that time: homo id aetatis, of that age.—Abl. with a comparative, so much, by so much: eo plus, quo minus, etc., the more.—Acc. adverb., therefore, for that reason, on that account: id operam do, ut, etc., T.: id ego gaudeo.—In phrases, aliquid id genus scribere (i. e. eius generis), of that sort: ad id quod sua quemque mala cogebant, evocati, for that purpose, L.: ad id, quod . . . erat, accendebatur, etc., besides the fact, that, etc., L.: in id fide a rege acceptā, to that end, L.: quod ad me de Lentulo scribis, non est in eo, is not come to that: cum iam in eo esset, ut, etc., just on the point of, etc., L.: totum in eo est tectorium, ut sit concinnum, depends on that: ex eo, quod, etc., from the fact that: civitas data, cum eo, ut, etc., with the stipulation that, etc., L.—
III. III. Praegn., that, such, of such a sort, of the character, so great: in id redactus sum loci, ut, etc., to such a pass, T.: neque is sum, qui terrear, Cs.: itaque ego is in illum sum, quem tu me esse vis: is status erat rerum, ut, etc., L.: quae causae sunt eius modi, ut, etc.: eā mecum consuetudine coniunctus est, quod, etc., such intimacy.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *is, from Proto-Indo-European *ís. Cognate with Oscan izic, Umbrian 𐌄𐌓𐌄 (ere), and further with Lithuanian jis, Proto-Slavic *jь.