Reflexive pronouns refer to the subject of the sentence or clause in which they occur. But when there is a clause within a clause, or a clause within a sentence, there is more than one subject, and this leads me to some confusion as to where I should or may use "se" and the like.
1. If I write "Mēdus timet nē mīlitēs sē servum fugitivum capiant et Rōmam redūcant/abdūcant", and I intend "se" to refer to Medus, would that be grammatically correct, or should I use "eum" (because se would refer to the milites, although that doesn't make sense semantically)?
2. If I answer "Cūr mercātor Rōmānus trīstis est?" with "Omnēs mercēs eius in fundō maris sunt", that seems correct. But if I answer with "Mercātor trīstis est, quia omnēs mercēs eius in fundō maris sunt", does that still work, because "Mercātor" is the subject of the sentence, although not of the clause? Or would I have to use "suī"? (It doesn't sound good to me, and I would rather still use "eius", but I'm not sure it would be correct.)
3. "Mēdus dīxit dominum sē postulāvisse ut opus sordidum faceret, sed nōn crēdō." Can "sē" refer to Mēdus, as I intend, even though it is the dominum who is the subject of the clause with postulāvisse?
1. If I write "Mēdus timet nē mīlitēs sē servum fugitivum capiant et Rōmam redūcant/abdūcant", and I intend "se" to refer to Medus, would that be grammatically correct, or should I use "eum" (because se would refer to the milites, although that doesn't make sense semantically)?
2. If I answer "Cūr mercātor Rōmānus trīstis est?" with "Omnēs mercēs eius in fundō maris sunt", that seems correct. But if I answer with "Mercātor trīstis est, quia omnēs mercēs eius in fundō maris sunt", does that still work, because "Mercātor" is the subject of the sentence, although not of the clause? Or would I have to use "suī"? (It doesn't sound good to me, and I would rather still use "eius", but I'm not sure it would be correct.)
3. "Mēdus dīxit dominum sē postulāvisse ut opus sordidum faceret, sed nōn crēdō." Can "sē" refer to Mēdus, as I intend, even though it is the dominum who is the subject of the clause with postulāvisse?