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Beginners' Latin
Virgin Mary with the Christ child, illustration. 13th century. Cat ref: E 36/266. Crown copyright
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Lesson 5: First and second declension adjectives; ego and nos

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ego and nos

Usually, Latin verbs do not need separate words for ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, ‘we’ or ‘they’. However, they are sometimes used to add emphasis, particularly at the beginning of grants. Ego and nos are called personal pronounsGrammar - opens in a new window since they stand in the place of a person.

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You are only likely to come across ego ‘I’ and nos ‘we’.

 

ego Maria regina predictum manerium ecclesie sancti Gregorii do et confirmo I, Queen Mary, give and confirm the aforesaid manor to the church of saint Gregory.
   
nos Willelmus et Isabella terras et maneria filiis et filiabus Henrici damus et confirmamus We, William and Isabella, give and confirm the lands and manors to the sons and daughters of Henry.
   
ego Stephanus terras totas Deo et ecclesie sancte Marie lego I, Stephen, leave all the lands to God and to the church of Saint Mary

Note that ego or nos is at the opposite end of the sentence from the verb.

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