PRONOUNS (Pronomoj).
125. There are seven classes of Pronouns:—(1) Personal, (2) Possessive, (3) Relative, (4) Interrogative, (5) Demonstrative, (6) Distributive or Collective, (7) Indefinite.
As, however, the last five classes are so intimately connected with other parts of speech, and as some of the pronouns represent two classes, and some two parts of speech, it is better to treat them as correlative words (see pars. [139]–157), so under the head of "Pronouns" we give only the personal and possessive.
Personal Pronouns (personaj pronomoj).
126. The personal pronouns are:—
Nominative.
| Singular. | 1st Person. | Mi = I. |
| " | 2nd Person. | Vi = you, thou. (Ci = thou is rarely used). |
| " | 3rd Person. | Li = he, Ŝi = she, Ĝi = it. |
| Plural. | 1st Person. | Ni = we. |
| " | 2nd Person. | Vi = you, ye. |
| " | 3rd Person. | Ili = they. |
Accusative.
| Singular. | 1st Person. | Min = me. |
| " | 2nd Person. | Vin = you, thee. (Cin = thee is rarely used). |
| " | 3rd Person. | Lin = him, Ŝin = her, Ĝin = it. |
| Plural. | 1st Person. | Nin = us. |
| " | 2nd Person. | Vin = you. |
| " | 3rd Person. | Ilin = them. |
Oni = one, people, they, we (like the French "on"), is an indefinite pronoun of the 3rd person. Oni may be deemed singular or plural.
Owing to the fact that in most languages the word corresponding to oni is invariable, Esperanto authors have generally avoided the accusative and possessive forms onin and onia, although they are occasionally met with. These forms are, however, perfectly regular, and may be used without hesitation if desired.
Si = self, selves, oneself, is a reflexive pronoun of the 3rd person, singular or plural.
Vi, like "you" in English, represents both the singular and plural, but when it refers to more than one person, words depending on it take the plural form.
Ĝi, like "it" in English, is used to represent things, and also persons and animals when the name does not reveal the sex.
Examples.—Mi lin amas = I love him. Li min vidas = He sees me. Ili trovis lin kaj min en la ĝardeno = They found him and me in the garden. Vi ne vidis nin = You did not see us. Vi (plural) estas pli saĝaj, ol ili (estas) = You are wiser than they are. Ŝi vidis ilin en la dormoĉambro = She saw them in the bedroom. Oni diras, "Per mono oni povas aĉeti ĉion" = They (people) say (it is said), "With money one (or, we) can buy everything. Mi vidis la domon, sed ĝi estis tro malgranda = I saw the house, but it was too small. Se oni estus riĉa, or riĉaj = If one were rich.
(a).—In words like infano = child, persono = person, individuo = individual, etc., the sex is not revealed; neither is it in the general name of an animal, as:—leono = a lion, hundo = a dog, birdo = a bird, etc., unless we add the feminine suffix -ino. In all such cases, when we do not know the sex, we use the pronoun ĝi. If, however, the sex is known, and we wish to demonstrate it, we can use the pronouns li or ŝi respectively. Zamenhof advises the use of li and ŝi for human beings only, and of ĝi for all other animals, even when the sex of the animal is known and indicated; the use of li or ŝi in such cases is nevertheless legitimate if desired.
Examples.—La infano forkuris, kiam mi parolis al ĝi (or li if we know the sex) = The child ran away when I spoke to it. Tio estas bela ĉevalino, ĝi (or, ŝi) trotas bone = That is a fine mare, she trots well. Se iu vizitos min dum mi forestas, diru al ĝi, ke ĝi revenu morgaŭ = If anyone (someone) should call upon (visit) me whilst I am away, tell him or her (it) to come again to-morrow.[15]
Footnote:
[15] This use of ĝi for a person is not recommended, and li (or tiu) would be better in a case where there is doubt as to the sex.
127. The word mem = self or selves is sometimes used with a personal pronoun or noun to give emphasis.
Examples.—Mi mem ĝin vidis = I myself saw it. Ni mem ĝin trovis, or, Ni ĝin trovis mem = We found it ourselves. Vi venu mem = Come yourself. Ŝi mem parolos = She herself will speak. Li mem respondu = Let him answer (for) himself. La virinoj venu mem = Let the women come themselves.
128. Si is a reflexive pronoun of the 3rd person, and therefore cannot refer to the pronouns of the 1st and 2nd persons.[16] We cannot say Mi lavas sin, or Ni, or Vi lavas sin, for "I wash myself," "We wash ourselves," "You wash yourself." We must, in each of these cases, use the pronoun which is the subject of the verb, as:—Mi lavas min—Ni lavas nin—Vi lavas vin = I wash myself—We wash ourselves—You wash yourself (or if vi = you is plural), You wash yourselves. Si, therefore, is used for the 3rd person, singular or plural, when it refers to the subject of the verb. It takes the accusative termination N when necessary, and then represents "himself, herself, itself, oneself, themselves."
Examples.—Li razis sin = He shaved himself. Petro razis sin = Peter shaved himself (Petro razis lin would mean Peter shaved him, viz., some other man referred to in the sentence). Ŝi diris al si = She said to herself (Ŝi diris al ŝi would mean "She said to her," viz., some other woman). Ĝi vundis sin = It wounded itself (Ĝi vundis ĝin
would mean "It wounded it," viz., some other animal). Ili mortigis sin = They killed themselves. Li pensis en si mem, ke ... = He thought to (in) himself that ... La du fratoj renkontas la rabistojn: la fratoj atakas kaj vundas ilin, sed, tiel farante, ili vundas sin (or, sin mem) = The two brothers meet the robbers: the brothers attack and wound them, but, in so doing, they wound themselves. Mia fratino havas amikinon, kiu faras ĉion por si, kaj nenion por ŝi = My sister has a friend, who does everything for herself, and nothing for her. Oni kelkfoje tro laŭdas sin = One (or people) sometimes praises oneself (or praise themselves) too much (see conjugation of a reflexive verb, par. [170]).
Footnote:
[16] The reason for the use of si is the avoidance of ambiguity. Si is not used with the 1st and 2nd persons, because there is no possibility of ambiguity in these cases.
129. The pronoun "it" is not expressed with impersonal verbs (see par. [164]).
Examples.—Kiu estas tie? Estas mi = Who is there? It is I. Neĝas = It snows. Pluvis = It rained. Necesas, ke oni manĝu = It is necessary to eat.
Possessive Pronouns (Pronomoj posedaj).
130. Possessive Pronouns are formed by adding the adjectival A to the personal pronouns. They are essentially adjectives, and follow the adjectival rules as to the formation of the plural and the accusative.
131. They are mia = my, mine, via = your, yours, thy, thine (cia = thy, thine, like its personal pronoun, ci, is rarely used), lia = his, ŝia = her, hers, ĝia = its, nia = our, ours, ilia = their, theirs, sia = his (own), her (own), hers, its (own), their (own), theirs, one’s (own).
Examples.—Mia patro, via frato, lia fratino, ŝia onklo, kaj iliaj onklinoj, estas en la domo = My father, your brother, his sister, her uncle, and their aunts are in the house. Mi vidis vian libron, lian bastonon, ŝian ombrelon, kaj ilian keston en la stacidomo = I saw your book, his stick, her umbrella, and their box in the station. Mi havas viajn librojn = I have your books. Ĝia koloro estas ruĝa = Its colour is red. Mia fratino renkontis vian fraton kaj viajn amikojn = My sister met your brother and your friends.
132. When a possessive pronoun stands alone, as in sentences like the following, it may or may not be preceded by the article la, at the writer’s option, but many authors prefer to omit the article on the ground that it is superfluous.
Examples.—Ĉar ni ĉiuj havas (or, ĉar ĉiu el ni havas) unu vortaron, prenu (la) vian kaj lasu (la) mian = Since we have each a dictionary, take yours and leave mine. Ŝiaj infanoj estas pli grandaj, ol (la) viaj = Her children are bigger than yours.
Note in the first example that ĉiuj is in the plural because it is in apposition to ni (see par. [69] (c)).
133. Mia is sometimes placed after a noun to denote affection.
Examples.—Patrino mia = Mother mine, or Mother dear. Fratino mia = Sister dear.
134. When a possessive pronoun refers to two or more nouns, it may, as in English, be repeated or not, but if it is not repeated the possessive pronoun is usually put in the plural.
Example.—Lia patro, lia patrino, kaj lia fratino, or, liaj patro, patrino, kaj fratino, estis en la domo = His father, his mother, and his sister were in the house.
134 (a). Personal pronouns, preceded by the preposition al, are sometimes used in a possessive sense.
Examples.—Mi kovris al mi la orelojn = I covered my (to myself the) ears. Li fermis al si la okulojn = He closed his (to himself the) eyes (see also par. [100]).
135. Sia, Lia, etc.—Great care must be taken not to use sia, when the sense requires one of the other possessives of the 3rd person, or vice versâ. Sia can only refer to the subject of the sentence or proposition in which it occurs, and being reflexive, it
can never form part of the subject of a sentence, as:—Li diris al ni, ke lia (not, sia) hundo ĵus mortis = He told us that his dog had just died. Like its root si, it is used for the 3rd person, singular or plural, and may represent "his (own), her (own), hers, its (own), their (own), theirs, or one’s (own)."
Since sia, being reflexive, can never form part of the subject of a sentence, we cannot say Li kaj sia edzino iris Parizon, because li and edzino are equally subjects of the same clause. But if we substitute kun for kaj, then li becomes the sole subject, and we can correctly say, Li kun sia edzino iris Parizon, or, Li iris Parizon kun sia edzino = He went to Paris with his wife. If we use kaj we must say, Li kaj lia edzino iris Parizon = He and his wife went to Paris.
136. In the four following examples sia refers to the subject of the sentence:—
Mia patrino forgesis sian libron = My mother forgot (or, has forgotten) her book. Tiuj infanoj perdis siajn gepatrojn = Those children have lost their parents. La hundo amas sian mastron = The dog loves its master. Oni devas ami sian najbaron, kiel sin mem = One must love one’s neighbour as oneself. N.B.—Sin is here in the accusative owing to ellipsis, the words oni amas after kiel being understood (see par. [105]).
137. In the following three sentences the possessive pronoun does not refer to the subject of the sentence, and therefore we use lia, ŝia, ĝia, or ilia, as the case may be:—
Li vidis mian amikon kaj lian edzinon = He saw my friend and his (his friend’s) wife. Ŝi venis al mi hieraŭ, por ke mi redonu ŝiajn leterojn al ŝi = She came to me yesterday in order that I might return her letters to her. La reĝo amas Johanon kaj lian filon = The king loves John and his son.
N.B.—Here the English does not show whether it is John’s son or his own son whom the king loves, but in Esperanto it is clear it is John’s son, otherwise it would be
sian filon; lian filon is in the accusative here, because the conjunction kaj connects like cases (see par. [266]).
(a). Note in the following examples how the possessive varies in accordance with the construction of the sentence.
El ĉiuj siaj amikinoj, ŝi plej amas Marion = Of all her friends (female), she loves Mary best. (Here siaj refers to ŝi).
El ĉiuj ŝiaj amikinoj, Mario estas le plej amata = Of all her friends, Mary is the most loved. (Here ŝiaj refers to some woman not mentioned.)
Leginte sian libron, li ekdormis = After reading (having read) his book, he fell asleep. (Here sian refers to li, understood in leginte = When he had read his book, he ...). Leginte lian libron, li ekdormis = After reading his book, he fell asleep. (Here lian refers to some man not mentioned, who might have lent him the book.)
Johano, legante sian libron, venkiĝis de dormo = John, while reading his book, was (became) overcome by sleep.
138. The following are sentences more complicated, showing the advantage of Esperanto over English, or indeed over most national languages, in respect of its great clearness of expression:—
Petro skribis al Paŭlo, ke li konduku al li sian hundon = Peter wrote to Paul to bring him his dog (sian refers to Paul because li = he (Paul) becomes the subject, and sia always, as we have said, refers to the subject of its own particular clause; if, therefore, lian had been the possessive, it would have been Peter’s dog.)
Post kiam la reĝo mortis, lia filo edziĝis kun sia/lia kuzino = After the king died, his son married his cousin. Here sia would refer to filo, the son’s cousin, but lia to reĝo, the king’s cousin.
Mia patrino petis sian filinon, ke ŝi donu al sia/ŝia fratino sian/ŝian libron. This sentence in English, whichever of the possessives be used, would be "My mother requested her daughter to give (that she give) to her sister her book."
Now the mother is the first subject in this sentence, therefore sian filinon is the mother’s daughter (ŝian would mean someone else’s daughter). But afterwards ŝi (the daughter) becomes the subject, therefore sia fratino would be the daughter’s sister, and ŝia fratino the mother’s. For the remainder of the sentence ŝi (the daughter) still remains the subject, therefore sian libron would be the daughter’s book, and ŝian libron the sister’s or the mother’s book. Ties libron would definitely specify it as the sister’s book.
138 (a). From the examples given in paragraphs 128, 135, 136, and 138, we see that the reflexive pronoun si and the possessive sia always refer to the subject (noun or pronoun) of their own clause.
(b). Si and sia are likewise used when the noun or pronoun to which they refer is not expressed, but only understood.
Example.—Tio estas nova metodo brosi sian (or, la) ĉapelon! = That is a new method of brushing one’s hat!
(c). Phrases introduced by an infinitive or a participle may be regarded as new sentences, the subject of which is mentally supplied: i.e., the infinitive or the participle may be expanded to make the full sentence implied.
Examples of Infinitive.—Estas bone ne trompi (ke oni ne trompu) sin = It is well not to deceive oneself. La patrino lasis Marion legi (ke ŝi legu) sian libron (Mary’s book); ŝian libron (the mother’s book). La oficiro petis Aŭguston rigardi (ke li rigardu) lin (him) sin (himself). La patro petis sian filon, helpi (ke la filo helpu) sian (the son’s) amikon; lian (the father’s) amikon.
Examples of Participle.—La reĝo ordonis, ke ĉiuj renkontante (kiam ili renkontis) lin, eliru. La princo montris viron, starantan post li. La knabo vidis siajn fratinojn, ludantajn (kiuj ludas) per sia (their own) pupo—per lia (with his) pupo. La reĝo forveturis, ne sciiginte (kaj ne sciigis) sian ministron pri sia (the king’s) devo—pri lia (the minister’s) devo.
(d). Boirac names lia, ŝia, ĝia, etc., the direct or normal form of the pronoun, "La rekta formo," and sia the secondary or accessory form, "flanka kaj akcesora." He points out that where the use of the normal form could cause no possible ambiguity, the use of the reflexive form, though always advisable if justified by rule, is nevertheless not obligatory. It is even possible, as shown by Millidge, that the non-use of si may in some cases be felt to be somewhat clearer than its use, e.g., "La Ĥino legas siajn skribajn signojn en sia dialekto, kaj la aliaj popoloj de Azio legas tiujn samajn signojn en ilia (instead of sia) lingvo (F.K., p. 258). In any case it is better, in case of doubt, to use the normal form. It is worse to use the reflexive form when it should not be used, than to omit it when it might be used.