41 nōbīsvōbīseīs/iīseīs/iīseīs/iīs

weyou alltheytheythey

of usof you alltheir/of them their/of them their/of them to/for usto/for you allto/for themto/for themto/for them us (obj.)you all (obj.)themthemthem

(prep.) us(prep.) you all(prep.) them(prep.) them(prep.) them “Like mē and tē, ablative nōbīs and vōbīs combine with cum to make one word:”

nōbīs-cumwith us

vōbīs-cumwith you all

“TODAY, WRITE THE MARKED UP AND FINAL VERSION OF EACH SENTENCE.”

Ūnus vestrum mēcum erat. Nōbīscum parāte. (1)

Why are there two forms of eī and iī and eīs and iīs?

“Because they were pronounced both ways by the Romans. The e sound and i sound were hard to tell apart before a long ī. Spelling indicated how people heard and pronounced the words, and so the spelling just reflects two different interpretations of the sounds by different persons.”

What about the two forms of nostrum and vestrum? I asked.

“Latin regularly uses nostrum and vestrum. But when the pronoun is paired with a noun that has verbal root, like love or care, the genitive pronoun becomes nostrī or vestrī; so, amor nostrī, cūra vestrī, love of us, care for you all. Still, nostrum and vestrum are the usual forms. Ok?”

I understand, I told her, though I didn’t like it one bit.