Celestial Laefêvëši pronouns

Celestial Laefêvëši has many types of pronouns.

There are two large classes of pronouns in Laefêvëši: substantival (or nominal) pronouns, and adjectival pronouns. As their name suggests, substantival pronouns replace nouns while adjectival pronouns replace adjectives. Each of these classes has further subdivisions.

Substantival pronouns

Substantival pronouns are divided into two main groups: personal and non-personal pronouns. The personal pronouns are pronouns like ós "I", sé "you", njûn "we", etc., as well as reflexive and reciprocal pronouns.

The group of non-personal pronouns includes interrogative pronouns (sel "who" and sei "what"), relative pronouns, unspecified pronouns, relative unspecified pronouns, indefinite pronouns, negative pronouns, total pronouns, and manifold pronouns.

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns (jubila ljaklansa) are used to denote the speaker, the addressee, or a third person - they are inflected for three persons. There is also a fourth person form of the pronouns, the obviative pronoun. Personal pronouns further inflect for number (singular, dual, plural), case, and clusivity.

The personal pronouns have unique forms for the six basic cases. Other case endings are added to these basic six forms, according to the case hierarchy.

Many pronouns also have two possible forms for each case: the long or emphatic form, and the short or unstressed form. Some pronouns have a third form in some of the cases: the preclitic form, which is a clitic form attached to the verb. The unstressed forms are used when the pronoun is not important. However, then inflecting for the subcases or additional cases, then the emphatic forms are used (along with Class II nominal suffixes, corresponding to the number, ie. singular pronouns take singular endings, and so on). Lastly, the clitic forms are often used when the verb begins in a vowel and the pronoun contracts. This is especially common in set phrases or idiomatic expressions.

Laefêvëši personal pronouns differentiate clusivity too - between inclusive (me and you) and exclusive (me and someone else) forms. Inclusive and exclusive pronouns exist in first person dual and plural, as well for second person dual and plural. However, the second person inclusive and exclusive pronouns are rarely used - the shorter inclusive forms are typically used.

There is also a fourth person pronoun, which exists only in singular. It is somewhat defective compared to other pronouns because it lacks certain forms. It is used when it's necessary to indicate that there are two separate people or things.

Third person pronouns in singular also differentiate between animate (ie. he/she) and inanimate (ie. it) forms, but only in nominative. The difference is non-existed in all other forms. There is also no gender difference or any other class difference.

Since Laefêvëši is a pro-drop language, nominative forms are rarely used explicitly. An exception to this might be the exclusive pronouns and the obviative pronoun, which tend to be used more often to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. Non-nominative forms of any pronoun are frequently used.

Case	Singular
	1st person			2nd person			3rd person			4th person (obviative)
	Long	Short	Clitic	Long	Short	Clitic	Long	Short	Clitic
Nominative	ós	ó		sé	é		jâ; dô	â; ô		léis
Genitive	vrai	va		stai	sa		trai	ta		lau
Dative	vriu	vi	vl-	stiu	si	st-	triu	ti	tr-	leu
Accusative	vrei	ve	vj-	stei	se	sj-	trei	te	tj-	lei
Locative	vrui	vu		stui	su		trui	tu		lui
Instrumental	vroi	vo		stoi	so		trói	to		lou

Case	Dual
	1st person				2nd person		3rd person
	Inclusive		Exclusive		Inclusive	Exclusive
	Long	Short	Long	Short
Nominative	hat	hâ	xat	xâ	tal	dal	kû
Genitive	hrai		xirrai		čai	dilai	kjai
Dative	hriu		xirriu		čiu	diliu	kjiu
Accusative	hrei		xirrei		čei	dilei	kjei
Locative	hrui		xirrui		čui	dilui	kjui
Instrumental	hroi		xirroi		čoi	diloi	kjoi

Case	Plural
	1st person		2nd person		3rd person
	Inclusive	Exclusive	Inclusive	Exclusive	Long	Short
Nominative	njûn	njôr	pal	bal	jî
Genitive	njai	rjai	prai	birrai	jai
Dative	njiu	rjiu	priu	birriu	jiu	ji
Accusative	njei	rjei	prei	birrei	jei	je
Locative	njui	rjui	prui	birrui	jui
Instrumental	njoi	rjoi	proi	birroi	joi

Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns

The reflexive pronoun is used to refer back to the subject of the sentence. It inflects only for case, but not for number. It takes singular Class II case endings. There is also no stand-alone nominative form, but a nominative form exists when additional cases require it.

The reciprocal pronoun indicates that the persons or things do the same thing, feel the same way or have the same relationship. It also inflects only for case, takes singular Class II case endings, and has no stand-alone nominative form, except for additional cases.

Case	Reflexive	Reciprocal
Nominative	(nî-)	(nû-)
Genitive	nai	nûda
Dative	niu	nûdi
Accusative	nei	nûde
Locative	nui	nûdu
Instrumental	noi	nûd

Examples of the reflexive pronoun:

• Nareu šillar noido.
  Take the book with you.
• Nei lallais tvēalu.
  He saw himself in the mirror.
• Lottallúksi nuiru.
  She doesn't want to speak about herself.

Examples of the reciprocal pronoun:

• Nûdi grîttes neires.
  The two of them are washing each other's hands.
• Tajatoksi nûdo.
  They don't agree with each other.

Reflexive verbs and reflexive/reciprocal pronouns

Laefêvëši also has reciprocal verbs, which also indicate that the action refers back to the subject. Because of that, there is some overlap with the reflexive and reciprocal verbs. In many cases, one can be used instead of the other, sometimes there are slight nuances in the meaning, and sometimes they convey very different information.

Some verbs are inherently reflexive. The reflexive pronoun can be added to indicate the direction of the action. Compare the three examples below:

• Neinnasse. (reflexive without the reflexive pronoun)
  He's laughing.
• Neinnasse niu. (reflexive with the reflexive pronoun)
  He's laughing at himself.
• Neinnasse vi. (reflexive with a non-reflexive pronoun)
  He's laughing at me.

In other cases, the reflexive pronoun can be replaced by turning a regular verb into a reflexive verb when the reflexive pronoun isn't important.

• Nei lallais tvēalu. → Laillaisse tvēalu.
  He saw himself in the mirror. → He saw himself in the mirror.

Some verbs can be used either reflexively or with a reflexive pronouns without any change in meaning, apart from emphasising the reflexivity of the action. Compare the following examples:

• Grîtta nioreu. (non-reflexive)
  I'm washing the child.
• Grîttare. (reflexive)
  I'm washing myself.
• Grîtta nei. (non-reflexive with the reflexive pronoun)
  I'm washing myself.

In dual and plural, further distinctions can be made by using the reciprocal pronoun. Continuing from the previous examples:

• Grîtteri. (reflexive) - Grîtte nei. (non-reflexive with the reflexive pronoun)
  The two of us are washing ourselves. (each person is washing themselves)
• Grîtte nûde. (non-reflexive with the reciprocal pronoun)
  The two of us are washing each other. (person A is washing person B, and person B is washing person A)

The same applies to inherently reflexive pronouns:

• Neinneri. (reflexive without the reflexive pronoun)
  The two of us are laughing.
• Neinneri niu. (reflexive with the reflexive pronoun)
  The two of us are laughing at ourselves.
• Neinneri nûdi. (reflexive with the reciprocal pronoun)
  The two of us are laughing at each other.

Interrogative pronouns

The interrogative pronouns (tentandila ljaklansa) are used to introduce a question and enquire about persons, animals, objects, etc. The corresponding English pronouns are who and what.

Case	Interrogative
	Animate	Inanimate
Nominative	sel	sei
Genitive	sai	sak
Dative	san	sat
Accusative	seu	set
Locative	sen	sem
Instrumental	sin	sim

Examples:

• Sel hjonnas?
  Who is coming?
• San vettain nareu?
  Who did you give the book to?
• Sak hkillanne?
  What are you afraid of? (or What do you fear?)
• Set marranos?
  What are they looking for?
• Simot geittaun?
  What will you pay with?

Relative pronouns

The relative pronouns are used to introduce a relative clause, which then gives more information about someone or something mentioned in the main clause. These are substantival relative pronouns, however, which means they stand in for nouns or refer to whole clauses. The best English equivalents are (the person) who, (he) who, or (someone) who, and (the thing) which, (that) which, or (something) which.

Case	Relative
	Animate	Inanimate
Nominative	sol	sos
Genitive	soi	sok
Dative	son	sot
Accusative	sou	sut
Locative	son	som
Instrumental	sun	sum

Examples:

• Sol nevvanas, nevant ás.
  A person who teaches is a teacher.
• Tannar, sut ullan.
  Do what you want.
• Pol sanlás, sumot tajataker.
  This is the only thing which I disagree with.
• Pol, sut lonnais, nalj áksi.
  What he said isn't true. (or more literally, That which he said isn't true.)

Unspecified pronouns

The unspecified pronouns are similar to interrogative pronouns but refer to an unspecified person, animal, object, etc. They are never used to introduce a question. There are no direct English counterparts, the closest are who, anyone, someone, and what, anything, something.

Case	Unspecified
	Animate	Inanimate
Nominative	sēl	siu
Genitive	sau	sâk
Dative	sân	sât
Accusative	søn	søt
Locative	sēn	sēm
Instrumental	syn	sym

Examples:

• Sannar vi, søt lallavan.
  Tell me if you see anything.
• Sannar vi, siu ehtiavausse.
  Tell me if anything changes.
• Ynnake, sân vettaha pei.
  I don't know who I should give this to.
• Njainnahas sēl fjøljade.
  Someone should call the doctor. (or May someone call the doctor.)
• Yssynnanasse, suj ti sēl søt vettas.
  It always makes him happy when someone gives him something.
• Ynnaike, synot lottai.
  I didn't know who I was talking to.

Relative unspecified pronouns

The relative unspecified pronouns are similar to the relative pronouns but with a suffix added to indicate an optional or arbitrary, random choice. They are similar to English whoever or anyone, and whatever or anything.

Case	Relative unspecified
	Animate	Inanimate
Nominative	soles	soxes
Genitive	soies	soges
Dative	sones	soðes
Accusative	soues	suðes
Locative	soŋes	sōŋes
Instrumental	suŋes	sûŋes

Examples:

• Sientóleu niounnallés soles.
  Anyone can read this letter.
• Soŋesot annan, ljecyissár.
  Whoever you go with, be careful.
• Suðeseru ǯiuissás.
  I'm ready for anything. (alternatively also I'm ready for whatever [may happen].)

Indefinite pronouns

The indefinite pronouns are used to refer to unknown people, animals, objects, etc. They are equivalent to English someone or somebody, and something.

Case	Indefinite
	Animate	Inanimate
Nominative	tel	tei
Genitive	tai	tak
Dative	tan	tas
Accusative	teu	tes
Locative	ten	tem
Instrumental	tin	tim

Examples:

• Tel se naittais.
  Someone called you.
• Tes ennas øxlu.
  She has something in his pocket.
• Eillais ve timot.
  He hit me with something.
• Tan gyttai nareu, či ʒaillai, sân.
  I lent the book to someone, but I've forgotten who.

Negative pronouns

The negative pronouns indicate the non-existence of persons, animals, objects, etc. Their English equivalents are nobody, no-one, and nothing. They also require the predicate to be negated (double negation).

Case	Negative
	Animate	Inanimate
Nominative	tol	toh
Genitive	toi	tok
Dative	tor	tos
Accusative	tou	tus
Locative	ton	tom
Instrumental	tun	tum

Examples:

• Tol hjannaiksi.
  Nobody came.
• Toi lallaike.
  I saw no-one.
• Tok tinnaike.
  I found nothing.
• Mønnølu møttaiksi tok.
  He bought nothing in the shop.

This pronoun partly overlaps with its corresponding adjectival negative pronouns - see here for more information.

Total pronouns

The total pronouns (sometimes also known as the universal pronouns) are used to indicate the total number of persons, animals, objects, etc. involved. The animate pronoun is often referred to as the distributive pronoun because it refers to each individual, and the inanimate pronoun as the summative pronoun because it refers to the class collectively. Their English equivalents are everyone, everybody, and everything, all.

Case	Total
	Animate	Inanimate
Nominative	fel	fei
Genitive	fai	făk
Dative	fân	fâs
Accusative	feu	fet
Locative	fen	fem
Instrumental	fin	fim

Examples:

• Feu donnanas.
  He greets everyone. (in the sense of greeting each person separately)
• Yvynekja tajatakses fînot.
  The professor doesn't agree with everyone.
• Pol fei lás, sut sella.
  This is everything that I know.
• Fâk i ynnake.
  I don't know how to do everything.

Manifold pronouns

The manifold pronouns are a set of unspecified pronouns with prefixes (and as such, they are declined identically to the unspecified pronouns).

There are four prefixes:

• lae- "many"
• xae- "many" (rarely used)
• tue- "hardly"
• jae- "rarely"

The first two types, lae- and xae-, are identical in meaning but the lae- forms are prevalent and the xae- forms have largely fallen out of use. They refer to multiple people or things and can be translated similarly to English "many a person" and "many a thing".

The other two types, tue- and jae-, are also similar in meaning, both referring to the scarcity or low number of people or things. Of these two, tue- is somewhat more common, but both prefixes are used. They can be translated as "hardly anyone" and "hardly anything".

Case	Manifold
	lae-series		xae-series		tue-series		jae-series
	Animate	Inanimate	Animate	Inanimate	Animate	Inanimate	Animate	Inanimate
Nomiantive	laessēl	laessiu	xaessēl	xaessiu	tuessēl	tuessiu	jaessēl	jaessiu
Genitive	laessau	laessâk	xaessau	xaessâk	tuessau	tuessâk	jaessau	jaessâk
Datitve	laessân	laessât	xaessân	xaessât	tuessân	tuessât	jaessân	jaessât
Accusative	laessøn	laessøt	xaessøn	xaessøt	tuessøn	tuessøt	jaessøn	jaessøt
Locative	laessēn	laessēm	xaessēn	xaessēm	tuessēn	tuessēm	jaessēn	jaessēm
Instrumental	laessyn	laessym	xaessyn	xaessym	tuessyn	tuessym	jaessyn	jaessym

Examples:

• Laessēl stoido tajatakses.
  Many a person will not agree with you.
• Vēalu laessiu ehtiaisse.
  Many a thing has changed in the city.
• Laessâk ynnake.
  I don't know many a thing. (or There are many things I don't know.)
• Tuessēl ksynnas aisóleu.
  Hardly anyone knows this song. (or Very few people know this song.)
• Vēalu tuessiu ehtiaisse.
  Hardly anything has changed in the city.

Combinations [OBSOLETE?]

Indefinite-relative

The combined indefinite-relative pronouns are pronouns made from an indefinite and a relative pronoun. Pronouns are inflected by case and therefore cannot be the object and the subject of two different verbs at the same time. The usual construction is to use two pronouns separated by a comma, thus forming two clauses. With combined indefinite-relative pronouns, it becomes possible to use a single pronoun which is both the object and the subject of two different verbs at the same time.

Example:

• How can you miss something (that) you never had?
• Váj fíllallén tés, sók énnanaiŋe?
• Váj fíllallén téssok énnanaiŋe?

Cases	Indefinite	Relative	Indefinite-relative
Nom + Nom	téi	sós	teós
Nom + Gen	téi	sók	teók
Nom + Acc	téi	sút	teút
Acc + Nom	tés	sós	téssos
Acc + Gen	tés	sók	téssok
Acc + Acc	tés	sút	téssut

Personal-summative

This kind of pronouns correspond to English we all, you all, they all pronouns. In contrary to other personal pronouns, personal-summative pronouns do not have a verbal form.

Case	Personal-summative (plural)
	1st person								2nd person								3rd person				4th person (obviative)
	Inclusive				Exclusive				Inclusive				Exclusive
	Long	Short	Prep.		Long	Short	Prep.		Long	Short	Prep.		Long	Short	Prep.		Long	Short	Prep.		Long	Short	Prep.
Nominative	skjûn	skû			skjôr	skjô			stjál	stjâ			stál	stâ			kvôn	kvî
Genitive	skjái	skja	skjá-		skái	ska	ská-		stjái	stja	stjá-		stái	sta	stá-		kvái	kva	kvá-
Dative	skjéu	skjø	skjǿ-		skéu	skø	skǿ-		stjéu	stjø	stjǿ-		stíu	sti	stí-		kvéu	kvø	kvǿ-
Accusative	skjéi	skje	skjé-		skéi	ske	ské-		stjéi	stje	stjé-		stéi	ste	sté-		kvéi	kve	kvé-
Locative	skjúi	skju	skjú-		skúi	sku	skú-		stjúi	stju	stjú-		stúi	stu	stú-		kvúi	kvu	kvú-
Instrumental	skjói	skjo	skjó-		skói	sko	skó-		stjói	stjo	stjó-		stói	sto	stó-		kvói	kvo	kvó-

Adjectival pronouns

Adjectival pronouns are pronouns that replace adjectives and follow the adjectival inflexion pattern. As with substantival pronouns, there two main groups: personal pronouns and non-personal pronouns.

There are two types of personal pronouns: the possessive personal pronouns and the reflexive personal pronoun. All the other types of non-personal substantival pronouns have their corresponding adjectival pronouns, with a few additional pronouns.

Personal adjectival pronouns

Possessive personal pronouns

The personal possessive pronouns inflect like adjectives. There are separate forms for each number, person, and clusivity, but they don't distinguish between animacy, or alienable and inalienable possession. The pronouns do inflect, however, for case and class.

Each possessive pronoun also has several variants: the full form, the oblique form, and two prefixed forms. The full form is typically used with the basic cases, and the oblique form is used with subcases and additional cases. These two forms are generally used predicatively.

The prefixed forms attach to the noun they modify. There are two variants: one is added to nouns that begin in a vowel, and the other is added to nouns beginning in a consonant. If the noun begins in a single consonant, it is usually geminated. The prefixed form is otherwise invariable. The full forms can be used instead of the prefixed form, and often are in more formal texts, but the prefixed forms are preferred. When contrast is emphasised, then the full forms can be used.

The obviative possessive pronoun is somewhat defective as it has only one prefixed form, and the oblique stems are slightly irregular.

Person		Singular				Dual				Plural
		Full	Oblique	Clitic		Full	Oblique	Clitic		Full	Oblique	Clitic
				voc.	non-v.			voc.	non-v.			voc.	non-v.
1st person	Inclusive	suiri	sou(r)-	soj-	sjo-	hairi	hau(r)-	haj-	hja-	njuiri	njuu(r)-	njyj-	njy-
	Exclusive					xairi	xau(r)-	xaj-	xja-	njoiri	njou(r)-	njoj-	njo-
2nd person	Inclusive	seiri	seu(e)-	sej-	sje-	tairi	tau(r)-	taj-	tja-	pairi	pau(r)-	paj-	pja-
	Exclusive					dairi	dau(r)-	daj-	dja-	bairi	bau(r)-	baj-	bja-
3rd person		jairi	jau(r)-	naj-	nja-	koiri	kou(r)-	koj-	kjo-	jøiri	jøy(r)-	njøj-	njø-
4th person		lîsiri	lîsu-/lîsr-	lis-		–				–

Examples of usage:

• Lallai njammiveu.
  I saw his cat.
• Pol njørrik ás.
  That's their house.
• Tjannarau tinnoiksi.
  They didn't find your books.
• Tajatasse sjohlelostost.
  She agrees with my suggestions.
• Tajatasse njahlelostost, ēkki lîsrost.
  She agrees with her suggestions but not with his.
• Tajatasse jaurost hlelostost, ēkki lîsrost. (the possessive pronoun is further emphasised)
  She agrees with her suggestions but not with his.
• Luiri naról ás? - Soiri.
  Whose books is this? - Mine.
• Luiri nareu ksinnain? - Kourve.
  Whose book did you steal? - Theirs.

Reflexive possessive pronoun

The reflexive possessive pronoun is used in much the same fashion as its substantival counterpart.

The forms of the reflexive possessive pronoun are:

• long: nîjiri
• short: nîu-
• vocalic: nîj-
• non-vocalic: njî-

Examples of usage:

• Mollai njînnifeu.
  I stroked my dog.
• Nîjesiewallu pai gaittaksi.
  You don't claim this in your articles.
• Luurte nareu šillain? - Nîjurte.
  Whose book did you take? - Mine.

The possessive reflexive pronouns becomes very useful with third person subjects. Compare the following two examples:

• Teil trâttais najîxde li lwōttais.
  The boy grabbed his (=someone else's) bag and ran away.
• Teil trâttais nîjîxde li lwōttais.
  The boy grabbed his (own) bag and ran away.

In dual and plural, even more distinctions can be made. Compare the following three examples:

• Aisont u Ʒerend vi sanneis nîjestvozurs.
  Aisont and Ʒerend were telling me about their (own) travels.
• Aisont u Ʒerend vi sanneis pajestvozurs.
  Aisont and Ʒerend were telling me about their (=two other people's) travels.
• Aisont u Ʒerend vi sanneis nøjestvozurs.
  Aisont and Ʒerend were telling me about their (=other people's) travels.

In singular, a similar distinction can be made with the obviative pronoun as well:

• Aeklavi lallais nîjurte li jaurte miveu, ēkki lîsurta.
  Aeklavi saw his (own) and his (=someone else's) cat, but not his (=a non-present person's) cat.

When it comes to body parts or other cases of obvious ownership, or if the context provides enough information to unambiguously determine the ownership, the pronoun can be omitted:

• Nif iipleonnais viēnot.
  The dog wagged its tail.
• Jarralais vates.
  She opened her eyes.

The possessive reflexive pronoun can also be used to denote approximation:

• Haǯi nîjurva liala urava ašissás.
  The cave is about thirty metres deep.
• Enna nîjurva luela (erova).
  He's about fifty (years old).

Non-personal adjectival pronouns

Laefêvëši has a wide array of adjectival pronouns. All of the substantival pronouns have corresponding adjectival pronouns, and a few extra pronoun types. The non-personal adjectival pronouns come in three main classes that correspond to the three adjectival classes: qualitative, relational, and possessive pronouns. So each type (eg. interrogative, indefinite, etc.) comes in three classes. There is a fourth class, quantitative, but these are generally considered adverbs as they are non-declinable. Some types, however, do have quantitative adjectival pronouns.

Similar to the personal possessive pronouns, the non-personal pronouns have more than one variant used. Aside from the full form, they also have an oblique form, but unlike the personal pronouns, many non-personal pronouns have a suffixed variant.

		Qualitative			Relational			Possessive		Quantitative
		Full	Oblique	Clitic	Full	Oblique	Clitic	Full	Oblique	Full	Oblique
Interrogative		vreisi	vrei(s)-	-ér	vraili	vrae(l)-	-ár	luiri	luu(r)-	þammisi	þammi(s)-
					þammili	þamme(l)-
Relative		reisi	rei(s)-		raili	rae(l)-		løiri	løy(r)-	þëttisi	þëtti(s)-
					á
Unspecified		vreisi	vrei(s)-	-ér	vraili	vrae(l)-	-ár	luiri	luu(r)-	þammisi	þammi(s)-
Relative unspecified		preisi	prei(s)-	-ép	praili	prae(l)-	-áp	pluiri	pluu(r)-	ƕëttisi	ƕëtti(s)-
Indefinite		treisi	trei(s)-	-	noili	noe(l)-	-ón	noiri	nou(r)-	tømmisi	tømmi(s)-
					vroila	vroe(l)-	-
Negative		skeisi	skei(s)-	-	saili	sae(l)-	-	sairi	sau(r)-	tohhisi	tohhi(s)-
Total		freisi	frei(s)-	-ǿr	faili	fae(l)-	-ǿf	fairi	fau(r)-	xōl (-óh)
					ēffili	ēffe(l)-
					mjeili	mjee(l)-		miiri	miu(r)-	mi
Manifold		laevreisi	laevrei(s)-		laevraili	laevrae(l)-		laeluiri	laeluu(r)-	laeþammisi	laeþammi(s)-
Differential		ljaisi	ljai(s)-	-íl	laili	lae(l)-	-ál	ljairi	ljau(r)-	–
Equal		faisi	fai(s)-	-áf	taili	tae(l)-	-át	tairi	tau(r)	–
Demon- strative	Proximal	šaisi	šai(s)-	-áš	pol(i)		-ól	poljiri	polju(r)-	tymmisi	tymmi(s)-
	Medial	čeisi	čei(s)-	-	mol(i)		-óm	moljiri	molju(r)-	møttisi	møtti(s)-
	Distal	kjaisi	kjai(s)-	-	kjal		-ák	kjaljiri	kjalju(r)-	kømmisi	kømmi(s)-

Interrogative pronouns

The interrogative adjectival pronouns are used in questions and they enquire about characteristics, qualities, etc. of the head they modify.

The pronouns are:

• qualitative: vreisi, vrei(s)-; -ér "what, what sort of"
• relational: vraili, vrae(l)-; -ár "which, what", and þammili, þamme(l)- "how many (different)"
• possessive: luiri, luu(r)- "whose"
• quantitative: þammisi, þammi(s)- "how large"

Examples:

• Reisi arkalj ás alën?
  What's the weather like today?
• Hamnajérau fēról ás?
  What colour is the coat?
• Vraelte siehnareu ullan?
  Which dictionary do you want?
• Ftîstárau sjemmiw ás?
  What breed is your cat?
• Luiri naról ás?
  Whose book is this?
• Þammelve iarises ennas?
  How many different (kinds of) pets do you have?
• Þammisi hanjast dymøhtau lás?
  What is the value of the purchase? (lit. How large is the value of the purchase?)

Relative pronouns

The relative adjectival pronouns are used to introduce relative clauses with animate and inanimate antecedents.

The pronouns are:

• qualitative: reisi, rei(s)- "such (as), the like(s) of which, the kind that"
• relational: raili, vrae(l)-; á "who, which, that"
• possessive: løiri, løy(r)- "whose"
• quantitative: þëttisi, þëtti(s)- "(of) such a size"

Examples of the qualitative pronoun:

• Poli lâl ás, reista xej lallanaike.
  This is a flower the like of which I have never seen before.
• Bannais ʒylogeu, reiste øllanais.
  He got the answer he wanted. (lit. He got the answer such as he wished.)

The relative qualitative pronoun often collocates with the relative demonstrative pronoun šaisi "such" in the main clause:

• Hjattaiksi šaista ʒylogau, reiste bannais.
  She didn't expect such an answer as she got.

There are two relative relational pronouns; the declinable raili and the indeclinable á. The declinable pronoun can replace the indeclinable one at any time but the latter is very common and is usually replaced by the declinable pronoun to avoid ambiguity only.

The declinable pronoun is used with all subcases and additional cases, whereas the indeclinable pronoun is used with the basic cases:

• Miettai sienteu riksedna, raemu tilvallai neontahu.
  I received a letter from the lady with whom I stayed during my studies.
• Nar, á lânur ás, šijen ás.
  The book which is on the table is a gift.

When a non-nominative basic case is required, the indeclinable á must be used with the short form of a personal pronoun, and the two are linked by a hyphen:

• Gitto rikeu, á-te jøčitittoi.
  We sold the house which we built.
• Pol nara ós, á-je skiennalais Iskârin.
  These are the book which Iskârin wrote.
• Pol vajy ás, á-ti vettais nareu.
  This is the woman to whom she gave the book.

However, that last example can be ambiguous in the spoken language where it would sound identical to:

• Pol vajy ás, á ti vettais nareu.
  This is the woman who gave the book to her.

To resolve the ambiguity, the declinable form can be used:

• Pol vajy ás, á-ti vettais nareu. → Pol vajy ás, raelti vettais nareu.
  This is the woman to whom she gave the book.
• Pol vajy ás, á ti vettais nareu. → Pol vajy ás, raili ti vettais nareu.
  This is the woman who gave the book to her.

If the obviative pronoun is used, however, there is no ambiguity because the obviative pronoun is incompatible with the hyphenated use:

• Pol vajy ás, á leu vettais nareu.
  This is the woman who gave the book to her.

Examples of the possessive pronoun:

• Hant, løiri rik jøtiuttais, sjoglîah ás.
  The man whose house burnt down is by uncle.
• Lallai littive, løiri vaiv ve jynnais.
  I saw mountains whose beauty dazzled me.
• Aisont, løyrot nyþot follai nentelu, rannais.
  Aisont, with whose sister I went to school, has died.

Examples of the quantitative pronoun:

• Vettau si geizde, þëttiste jøðettatanno.
  I will give you the salary that you deserve. (lit. I will give you the salary of such as a size as you deserve.)

Like the qualitative pronoun, the quantitative pronoun also tends to coöccur with a demonstrative pronoun:

• Þëttisi šatelt seirráus, tymmisi âta soirráus.
  Whatever size your share will be, mine will be just as much.

Unspecified pronouns

The unspecified pronouns are identical in form to the interrogative pronouns but they are used in declarative sentences rather than being used to introduce a question (although they can appear in questions but they are not part of what is being asked for).

The qualitative pronoun vreisi "any sort of" is used to refer to someone or something arbitrarily indefinite:

• Šettej viettaisse vreisi doia.
  Probably some sort of an accident has happened.
• Ennanas vreisve sades.
  He always has some difficulties or other.

The relational pronoun vraili "which" is used to refer to an unspecified or unknown person or thing in a group:

• Sellake, vraelte htineu lallais.
  I don't know which car he saw.

The possessive pronouns luiri "whose" refers to someone or something owned by someone unspecified:

• Sella, luurte nareu nionnan!
  I know whose book you're reading!

Relative unspecified pronouns

Similar to the corresponding substantival pronouns, they indicate an optional or arbitrary choice. Unlike the substantival ones, the adjectival pronouns are formed with a prefix rather than a suffix.

The pronouns are:

• qualitative: preisi, prei(s)-; -ép "of any kind whatever"
• relational: praili, prae(l)-; -áp "any whatever, whichever"
• possessive: pluiri, pluu(r)- "whosever, whoever's, of whomever"
• quantitative: ƕëttisi, ƕëtti(s)- "whatever the size, however large"

Examples:

• Marrana preiste noidde.
  I'm looking for any kind of job.
• Riŋalallén preiste hamnaðeu.
  You can use any kind of colour.
• Riŋalallén praelte hamnaðeu.
  You can use whichever colour.
• Pluurte nareu šillain, noattar te léj.
  Whosever book you took, return it now.
• Ƕëttiste ðēneu vi vettan, te šillau.
  However large a piece you give me, I'll take it.

Indefinite pronouns

The pronouns are:

• qualitative: treisi, trei(s)- "some sort of, some kind of"
• relational: noili, noe(l)-; -ón "some, a certain", and vroila, vroe(l)- "some, certain"
• possessive: noiri, nou(r)- "someone's"
• quantitative: tømmisi, tømmi(s)- "some(what)"

The qualitative pronoun refers to someone or something indefinite or one of an unspecified number still to be decided or selected:

• Nor treisi mønd áis.
  The place was some kind of a shop.
• Høstusu kaullais treiste synses.
  He was drawing symbols of some kind in the sand.

There are two relational pronouns: noili denotes an unknown person or thing, or a person or thing that the speaker does not wish to name, and it can be be used in any number; whereas vroila can be used in plural only, and it denotes (a small) and indefinite number of persons or things of a certain type, and it is selective rather than quantitative.

Examples of noili:

• Hjannais harjēssainón.
  Some young man came.
• Fouttai noela vajy.
  I met some woman.
• Noelu skyylu pol nalj ás.
  In a certain sense that is true.
• Toþóneru seksennas.
  In some way he's right.
• Ʒajahkulu lallai kâlónes.
  I saw some trees in the distance.

Examples of vroila:

• Vroila hitjaf hittos liehëisaj.
  Some/certain drivers drive too fast.
• Vroila kâla ƕejskâissós.
  Some/certain trees are evergreen.
• Vroellu emlallu losej ennoksi vassannada.
  In some/certain villages they still don't have electricity.
• Vroila linnos, í poli ljen viettaiksi.
  Some/certain people say that it didn't even happen.

The possessive pronoun indicates possession by an unknown or unidentified person:

• Ljēllarka, pol noiri rik ás!
  Don't go in, this is someone's house!
• Šillais ewnentau nouta nîhta.
  He took the wallet from someone's handbag.
• Neirodo kvēj rettais noule øxle.
  He slowly reached into someone's pocket with his hand.

The quantitative pronoun indicates a small and indefinite amount:

• Ukkan hjannais tømmisot sjōnozot.
  The train arrived with some (small) delay.
• Ennois tømmisau hléansau.
  They had some (small) advantage.

Negative pronouns

The pronouns are:

• qualitative: skeisi, skei(s)- "no, of no kind, not of any kind"
• relational: saili, sae(l)- "no, none, no-one"
• possessive: sairi, sau(r)- "no-one's"
• quantitative: tohhisi, tohhi(s)- "no, not any"

The negative pronouns are somewhat confusing. With the exception of the possessive pronoun, all other pronouns have effectively been supplanted by the negative partitive in the modern language, with the actual pronouns used occasionally only for emphasis, and when stand-alone or in nominalised usage. In addition, skeisi and saili have nearly the same meaning, so most of the time either can be used (or the negative partitive case).

Examples:

• Saelva koitas ennake. / Skeisva koitas ennake. / Koitēnksi ennake.
  I have no news. / I have no news (whatsoever/of any kind). / I have no news.
• Saelva icyva ennaksi. / Skeisva icyva ennaksi. / Icynnei ennaksi.
  She has no worries. / She has no worries (whatsoever/of any kind). / She has no worries.

However, sometimes the difference can be maintained:

• Vraelva wiskas ullon? - Saelve.
  Which cakes do you want? - None.
• Vreisva wiskas ullon? - Skeisve.
  What kind of cakes do you want? - None (of any sort).

The qualitative pronoun is also rarely used with human referents, where only the relational pronoun or the negative partitive case are typically used:

• Saelta fjøljada láksi. / Føljannei láksi.
  No doctor was there.

The relational pronoun can be used substantivally as well, a usage shared with the substantival negative pronoun tol (no-one). Very often the two can be used interchangeably:

• Tol/saili ta ksynnaksi.
  No-one/nobody knows him.
• Tol/saili jai ksynnaksi.
  No-one/nobody likes them.

Nonetheless, there is often a difference between these two pronouns. The substantival pronoun tol refers to an unlimited number of persons, whereas the adjectival pronoun saili refers to a more limited number of persons or things already mentioned. In terms of usage, this means that tol appears in general(ised) statements and saili appears in more specific contexts.

Examples:

• Tol minólur ti hûn žonnalléksi.
  No-one in this world can help him any more.
• Allais jai liala, či saili sellaiksi ʒylogde.
  There was thirty of them and no-one knew the answer.
• Sel allais ƕênsur? - Tol.
  Who was at the party? - Nobody.
• Vraili (čainna) allais ƕênsur? - Saili.
  Which of you was at the meeting? - No-one.

The relational pronoun is also often used with the egressive case to mean "none of" (in plural) or "neither of" (in dual):

• Saili neonjasna tajataiksi.
  None of the students agreed.
• Saili hrainna annauksi fokser.
  Neither of us will go on the trip.

The possessive pronoun indicates the lack of possession or that a person or thing belongs to no-one:

• Alloi saeru tjēdru.
  We were in no man's land.
• Jâ sairi taloks allanaiksi.
  She's never been anyone's enemy.
• Nif sairráksi.
  The dog is no-one's.
• Vanšinól sairi viellanši láksi.
  This language is no-one's mother tongue.

The quantitative pronoun indicates the total absence of an amount, or that the amount is equal to zero:

• Estiaike tohhisot ewnot.
  I travelled with no money.
• Tohhisve dygvanastas ennake.
  I've got no savings.
• Ennoke hûn tohhisa daonozau.
  We have no hope any more.

In the modern language, this pronoun has started to fall out of use and is frequently replaced by the negative partitive case, the relational negative pronoun, or by the abessive case in some contexts:

• Estiaike tohhisot ewnot. → Estiai ewnazu. (replaced by the abessive case)
  I travelled with no money. → I travelled without (any) money.
• Tohhisva dygvanastas ennake. → Saelva dygvanastas ennake. (relational pronoun) / Dygvanastēnksi ennake. (negative partitive)
  I've got no savings.

Total pronouns

The pronouns are:

• qualitative: freisi, frei(s)-; -ǿr "all sorts of, of all sorts"
• relational: faili, fae(l)-; -ǿf "each, every"; ēffili, ēffe(l)- "each and every, every single (one)"; and mjeili, mjee(l)- "both sorts of"
• possessive: fairi, fau(r)- "everyone's, of every person"; and miiri, miu(r)- "of both"
• quantitative: xōl "all, entire, everything"; and mi "both"

The qualitative pronoun is used to indicate arbitrary totality:

• Nionna freisve nares.
  I read books of all sorts.
• Caenturu freisa alta lóis.
  There were all sorts of things in the attic.
• Kaljǿrese ksynnas.
  She knows all sorts of jokes.
• Ʒylotvonsǿrau sasakkalasse.
  He avoids any kind of responsibility.

The most frequently used relational pronoun is faili, which is used to denote each individual person or thing in a group or class:

• Sananǿfeu ðoitta.
  I exercise every morning.
• Nevant hkynnais faelta neonjas.
  The teacher recognised every student.
• Faendo hleŋendo ʒylogondo bannoun šala činas.
  With each of the following two answers you will get ten points.

The relational pronoun ēffili is used less frequently and it acts as a more emphasised version of faili:

• Pol ʒylotvons ēffelta sainau.
  This is the responsibility of each and every human being.
• Ēffelte alëteu te fouttai.
  I met her every single day.

The dual relational pronoun mjeili is used to indicate the closeness or commonness of two persons or things:

• Mjeelta karsas vinnai.
  I've lost both pairs of my shoes.
• Mjeila niora kēttois.
  The children of both families shouted.
• Miannais ƕenseu li šianeu, mjeelte jattuj.
  He felt sadness and happiness, both at the same time. (or He felt both sadness and happiness at the same time.)
• Gylottennéri mjeelost yskytost.
  We (two) need to talk to both families.

The possessive pronoun fairi indicates collective possession or that something or someone belongs to everyone:

• Saōhól flia fairrás.
  This forest is everyone's property. (or This forest belongs to everyone.)
• Fairi aks ás rivaj fjēlul.
  It's everoyne's wish to live in peace.

The dual possessive pronoun miiri indicates that someone or someone belongs to two people:

• Naról miirrás.
  This book belongs to both of us.

However, this pronoun is very rarely used and the personal possessive pronouns are preferred:

• Naról tairrás.
  This book is ours. (ie. of both of us)

Lastly, the quantitative pronouns are xōl and mi, which are also known as the summative pronouns. See the following section about their form, meaning, and use.

Summative pronouns

These correspond to the total quantitative pronouns. They refer to persons or things in totality. The first summative pronoun is xōl, which means "all, the whole/entire", and when used as a nominal pronoun, it means "everyone, everything". Like the demonstrative pronoun, this summative pronoun also has a clitic form.

Case	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	xōl(i)	xēl(i)	xal(i)
Genitive	xai	xiai	xâs(i)
Dative	xiu	xye	xît(i)
Accusative	xei	xiei	xet(i)
Locative	xui	xiui	xût(i)
Instrumental	xoi	xioi	xos(i)
Clitic form	-óh

Examples:

• Mysóheu nøllais.
  He cried the whole way.
• Þier zannais njynóhis.
  All the guests liked the food.
• Xei þiuttain!
  You've eaten everything!
• Xosot mōllaure, sialla!
  I'll play with everyone, I promise!

The pronoun can also be used to indicate the complete or total degree of some property or state:

• Eidisóháis.
  He was completely pale.
• Šianisóha kaillois.
  All happy they started to sing.
• Alloi xal icyllu kej niorau.
  We were worried sick because of the child.

The pronoun can also carry the meaning of "the very":

• Onotóhan sellai, í pei tēttauis.
  From the very beginning I knew she would do it.

It is also used in several set expressions:

• niróhus(u) "at all costs, no matter what"
  
  • Niróhusu hjeattallús.
    He wants to succeed no matter what.
• ahhisóh "all sort of" (usually in plural: ahhisóha "all sorts of")
  
  • Hjonnois ahhisóha saina.
    All sorts of people were coming.
• mânóhost(o) "with all one's might; very much so"
  
  • Mânóhosto tvyddalasse fjøjada.
    He resists taking the medicine with all his might.
• mânóhesre/mânóhers "on all fours"
  
  • Annais mânóhesre.
    He went on all fours.
• mânóhussu/mânóhujs "on all fours" (manner of movement)
  
  • Vattinteu marranais mânóhussu.
    She was looking for the glasses on all fours.

The dual summative pronoun

The dual summative pronoun can be used as a substantival pronoun or as an adjectival pronoun. It declines in dual only. The pronoun corresponds to English "both".

Case	Form
Nominative	mi (mí)
Genitive	mia (mía)
Dative	mii (míi)
Accusative	mie (míe)
Locative	miu (míu)
Instrumental	mio (mío)

Examples:

• Pol Tîmō li Neatvent és, u mí neonjie lés.
  They are Tîmō and Neatvent, and both are students.
• Miondo neiriodo trâttais čjøde.
  He grabbed the branch with both hands.
• Mii hriu sexissás.
  It's difficult for both of us.

Manifold pronouns

The pronouns are:

• qualitative: laevreisi, laevrei(s)- "many a(n)"
• relational: laevraili, laevrae(l)- "many a(n)"; tuevraili, tuevrae(l)- "(very) few"; and jaevraili, jaevrae(l)- "(very) few"
• possessive: laeluiri, laeluu(r)- "of many a person"
• quantitative: laeþammisi, laeþammi(s)- "of many different sizes"; and tueþammisi, tueþammi(s)- "of few different sizes"

The only qualitative pronoun is of the lae-series. Its meaning has become identical to the lae-series relational pronoun and they can be used interchangeably. They both denote a large number of persons or things of a certain group.

Examples:

• Laevreiste/laevraelte tuseu nøllais.
  She spent many a night crying.
• Tēttais nja laevreiste/laevraelte kēkkoinseu.
  He's already done many a foolish thing.
• Koitansumu nennanne laevreisva/laevraelva ftonas.
  Studying/doing journalism gives you many a (different) skill.

There are two other relational pronouns, tuevraili and jaevraili, with the latter being rarely used. Both pronouns denote a small number of persons or things of a certain group.

Examples:

• Tuevraelul narul esien rikkás.
  In very few books is the description so lively.
• Tuevraila lēaf ennos tymjē váičitintas.
  Very few towns have so many beautiful buildings.

The possessive pronoun laeluiri indicates that someone or something belongs to many people:

• Laeluiri ðast lânur ás.
  Many a person's glass is on the table. (ie. Many people's glasses are on the table.)
• Ksinnais laeluulte nirykseu.
  He's stolen many a person's watch. (ie. He's stolen many people's watches.)
• Naróla luirrós? - Ynnake, laeluira.
  Whose are these books? - I don't know, many people's.

The quantitative pronoun laeþammisi is used to indicate that something comes in many different sizes (or some other quantity), and the pronoun tueþammisi is used to indicate the opposite. The latter is rarely used.

Example:

• Nifa laeþammissós, ûssaf i tueþammisa.
  Dogs can be of many different sizes while cows are of few different sizes.

Demonstrative and summative pronouns

Number	Case	Demonstratives			Summative
		THIS	THAT	YONDER
Singular
	Nom.	pól(i)	sól(i)	kjál(i)	xôl
	Gen.	pái	sái	kjáde	xái
	Dat.	píu	síu	kjádo	xíu
	Acc.	péi	séi	kjáda	xéi
	Loc.	púi	súi	kjádi	xúi
	Inst.	pói	sói	kjádu	xói
Dual
	Nom.	pél(i)	sél(i)	kján(i)	xêl(i)
	Gen.	piái	siái	kjánde	xiái
	Dat.	pýe	sýe	kjándo	xýe
	Acc.	piéi	siéi	kjánda	xiéi
	Loc.	piúi	siúi	kjándi	xiúi
	Inst.	piói	siói	kjándu	xiói
Plural
	Nom.	pál(i)	sâl(i)	kjân(i)	xál(i)
	Gen.	pâs(i)	sât(i)	kjâfe	xâs(i)
	Dat.	pît(i)	sît(i)	kjâfo	xît(i)
	Acc.	pés(i)	sét(i)	kjâfa	xét(i)
	Loc.	pût(i)	sût(i)	kjâfi	xût(i)
	Inst.	pós(i)	sót(i)	kjâfu	xós(i)
Clitic forms		-(n)ool -(n)ól	-(n)oos -(n)ós	-(n)aak -(n)ák	-(n)ooh -(n)óh