Quenya
pronouns can be separate words, just like English pronouns.
Pronouns as separate words suggest more emphasis than pronoun
endings. These pronouns can be used for either the subject or
the object of a verb.
Hantanyel I
thank you.Ni hanta lyë I (personally) thank you.
Hantan lyë I thank (especially) you.
Extra Material for the Geeks:
Remember that if a verb has only one pronoun ending, that ending refers to the subject of the verb. So "Ni hantal" would, expanded July 17, 2013: if it meant anything, mean "You thank me".
ni I, me (sometimes nyë for object "me")
met we, us (2 people)(excludes hearer)
vë we, us (more than 2)(includes hearer)
më we, us (more than 2)(excludes hearer)
lyë you (one person, formal/polite)
tyë you (one person, informal/familiar)
let you (2 people, formal/polite)
tyet you (2 people, informal/familiar)
lë you (a group, more than 2)
For
"it," Quenya makes a distinction here between living and
non-living things. Plants count as "living." As
far as I know, this set of pronouns is the only place in Quenya where
this distinction between “living” and “non-living” shows up.
së he, him/she, her/it (living)/genderless singular
më
alternate
form for it (living)së he, him/she, her/it (living)/genderless singular
sa it (non-living)
corrected
July 18, 2013:
tú
they,
them (2)
të they, them (living, more than 2)
tai, ta they, them (non-living, more than 2)
Quenya has two more specialized pronouns:
hyë, hé he/she "the other one"
Tolkien
gives two examples:
“He [së] struck him [hyë] and he [hyë] fled.”
Melin sé apa la hé. “I love him but not him”
“He [së] struck him [hyë] and he [hyë] fled.”
Melin sé apa la hé. “I love him but not him”
These
sentences are much clearer in Quenya than in English, because Quenya
is distinguishing between the two people.
added July 17, 2013:
hya
it "the other one"
If you
are comparing two non-living
things, the “other one” is hya.
Merin
sa
apa la hya.
“I want it
but not it.”
mo someone, anyone
“One
[mo]
does not simply walk into Mordor.”
Colloquial English often uses “you” in situations like this. But of course Boromir wasn't talking about whether you specifically could do it; he was talking about anyone.
Extra
Material for the Geeks:
Colloquial English often uses “you” in situations like this. But of course Boromir wasn't talking about whether you specifically could do it; he was talking about anyone.
Most
of these separate-word pronouns can also be spelled with long (accented) vowels.
ni me
nin for me (dative)
nissë on me (locative)
nillo away from me (ablative)
ninna toward me (allative)
ninen caused by me (instrumental)
nin for me (dative)
nissë on me (locative)
nillo away from me (ablative)
ninna toward me (allative)
ninen caused by me (instrumental)
Always
use the simple, singular form of the case ending, even with dual or
plural pronouns.
vë usven for
us (dative)
vessë on us (locative)
vello away from us (ablative
venna toward us (allative)
venen caused by us (instrumental)
vessë on us (locative)
vello away from us (ablative
venna toward us (allative)
venen caused by us (instrumental)
Emphatic Pronouns
These
is a set of even more emphatic pronouns.
Hantanyel I
thank you.Ni hanta lyë I (personally) thank you.
Inyë hanta lyë (Who would have thought it, even) I thank you.
inyë I, me
engwë we, us (2 people)(includes hearer)
emmë we, us (2 people)(excludes hearer)
elvë we, us (more than 2)(includes hearer)
elmë we, us (more than 2)(excludes hearer)
elyë you (one person, formal/polite)
etyë you (one person, informal/familiar)
estë you (2 people)
eldë you (a group, more than 2)
es, esë he/she/it /genderless singular
ettë they (2)
eltë they (more than 2)
Again, these pronouns can take case endings, just like the ordinary pronouns.
Practice - Your Turn
I continue to take examples from you, the readers. Post an example in the Comments, or email it to me {lihan_taifun (at) yahoo (dot) com} and I will post it in Comments for you.
