That One Near You: iste

Level 5

Hic is near me, iste is near you, ille is far from both.

How It Works

Word	Where it points	Example
hic, haec, hoc	near me	hic liber (this book of mine)
iste, ista, istud	near you	iste liber (that book of yours)
ille, illa, illud	far from both	ille liber (that book over there)

Iste declines like ille: istum, istius, isto. The masculine nominative singular is iste, and the neuter is istud.

Use iste when the thing is near the person you are speaking to: Da mihi istum librum (Give me that book you have). In a speech against someone, it is a quiet way to show scorn.

In the Vulgate, iste is often just this. It does not point to the listener and has no scorn: parabolas istas (these parables, Matthew 13:53) and parvulus iste (this little child, Matthew 18:4).

Examples (4)

Ista res mihi non placet.
That matter of yours does not please me.
Ista agrees with res. The speaker points to something that belongs to the listener.
Quis est iste puer?
Who is that boy near you?
Iste points to the boy near the person addressed.
Da mihi istum librum.
Give me that book you have.
Istum is the accusative of iste, and it agrees with librum.
Istae fabulae nobis non placent.
Those stories of yours do not please us.
Istae is feminine nominative plural and agrees with fabulae.

Common Mistakes

Declining iste like bonus.
Istus puer venit.
Iste puer venit.
The masculine nominative singular is iste, like ille. It does not end in -us.

How It Connects

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

That One Near You: isteLevel 5

Learn This First

Iste changes the way ille does.

That: ille, illa, illud
Know ille, because iste, ista, istud changes like it.
Level 3

Words in This Pattern

istehicille

Practice That One Near You: iste in Bubblegum

Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Latin lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.