Of Me, Of You: mei, tui, nostri, nostrum

Level 5

Mei, tui, nostri and vestri go with the object. Nostrum and vestrum go with a group.

How It Works

PronounAbout the personOut of a groupPossession
ego (I)meimeus
tu (you)tuituus
nos (we)nostrinostrumnoster
vos (you all)vestrivestrumvester
himself, herself, themselvessuisuus

Quis vestrum means which of you, and omnium nostrum means of us all. The Church prayers use the first column: miserere mei (have mercy on me) and memento mei (remember me). Church Latin also puts the dative after miserere, as in miserere nobis (have mercy on us).

Sui is the reflexive genitive and points back to the subject: memor sui (mindful of himself).

The possessive adjective carries ownership and agrees with its noun: liber meus is my book.

Examples (5)

  1. Memor tui sum.

    I am mindful of you.

    Memor takes the genitive. Tui is the genitive of tu.

  2. Miserere mei, Deus.

    Have mercy on me, God.

    Psalm 50:3. Misereor takes the genitive, so the Latin says mei.

  3. Domine, memento mei cum veneris in regnum tuum.

    Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

    Luke 23:42. Memento mei is remember me. Tuum is the possessive adjective for your.

  4. Pars nostrum domi manet.

    Some of us stay at home.

    Nostrum takes a part out of a group: part of us.

  5. Quis vestrum hoc scit?

    Which of you knows this?

    Vestrum is the genitive that picks one out of the group.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the genitive pronoun for my.

    Liber mei est.
    Liber meus est.

    Mei is the genitive for the person that a feeling or a memory is about, as in memor mei. It does not show ownership. To say it is my book, use meus, which agrees with liber.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Of Me, Of You: mei, tui, nostri, nostrumLevel 5

Learn This First

Mei, tui, nostri and nostrum are genitives of the personal pronouns.

Words in This Pattern

egotuvossuinostrum