How to indicate gender of ambiguous pronoun antecedent

Question

Consider the following sentence (a little contrived, but you can imagine a better example...):

Do you like their friends? -I only like her friends.

The obvious word-for-word translation does not preserve this distinction:

Diligisne amicos eorum? -Modo eius amicos diligo.

Modern languages deal with this ambiguity in various ways, e.g. French:

Tu aimes bien leurs amis ? -J'aime bien seulement ses amis à elle.

My question: Does Latin have a similar way to indicate the gender of the antecedent of such pronouns as eius when it is ambiguous?

Answer 1

I don't think it can be expressed as conveniently as in English, but there are some ways. Singular genitives in Latin pronouns tend not to make a difference between genders.

1. The easiest way around without more context is to use a relative clause:

   Modo eos amicos, quas ea habet, diligo.

2. Using a name or a noun also makes it very clear, but the choice of words depends on contest:

   Modo puellae amicos diligo.
   Modo Mariae amicos diligo.

3. In some cases you might be able to rely on the order of introduction:

   Ecce puer et puella. Diligisne amicos eorum?
   – Modo huius amicos diligo.

   In this last example I would read hius as "her" and illius or eius as "his".

4. If you are not afraid of changing the meaning a little, more avenues open:

   Eosdem amicos diligo atque ea.
   "I like the same friends she does."

Answer 2

There is always a possibility of ambiguity when using the genitive singular of pronouns (which, incidentally, never refer to the subject of the sentence). Consequently, there's a natural temptation to look for an equivalent in Latin that doesn't actually exist, as you are doing here. The simple answer is to use an unambiguous noun as in, for example,

An te iuvat eorum amicos novisse? — Immo, iuvat amicos puellae tantum.

If you are in a particularly discursive mood, there's nothing at all wrong in qualifying your response in some kind of subordinate clause, but it is as well to bear in mind that discourse tended to be more terse and pithy when oral than when written, and to choose your approach appropriately.