Pronouns
Quenya Grammar 1
Course 1 · Chapter 7 · Pronouns
Quenya Grammar 1, Chapter 4 met the possessive endings on nouns, such as atarinya "my father". They are one part of a larger system: Quenya, like Latin and Finnish, usually attaches its pronouns to the word they belong to as short endings, and keeps separate pronouns for emphasis. This chapter sets out the whole system and the two verbs meaning "to be". The verbs themselves are the subject of Chapters 8 and 9.
The Pronoun System
Wikipedia's table is headed "Early Noldorin Quenya Forms" but says it draws on sources of about 1965 to 1973 and so describes late Quenya. The article also carries a cleanup banner, so treat the table as a secondary summary of Tolkien's notes. The columns are the long ending used on a verb ("subject"), the free (separate) pronoun, and the possessive ending.
| Person | Ending ("subject") | Free form | Possessive |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | -nye (short -n) | ní | -nya |
| you (familiar) | -tye | tyé | -tya |
| you (polite) | -lye | lyé | -lya |
| he, she (animate) | -se (short -s) | sé | -rya / -ya |
| it (inanimate) | -sa (short -s) | sá | -rya / -ya |
"We", "you" and "they": dual and plural
| Person | Dual (two) | Plural (three or more) |
|---|---|---|
| we, including you | -ngwe / -nque; free wet | -lwe / -lve; free wé / vé |
| we, excluding you | -mme / -nwe; free met | -lme; free mé |
| you (polite) | -llë / -stë; free let | -lde / -lle; free lé |
| they | -sto / -ttë; free tú | -ntë (animate); free té |
The "we" that includes the listener (inclusive) and the "we" that leaves the listener out (exclusive) are different words, a distinction English lacks. The dual forms are for exactly two: for example, wet is "you and I", and met is "he or she and I".
The Possessive Endings
These are the endings from Chapter 4, now set out in full. They add -t (dual) or -r (plural) to show whether the thing owned is one, two or many.
| Owner | One thing | Two things | Many things |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | -(i)nya | -(i)nyat | -(i)nyar |
| your (polite) | -lya | -lyat | -lyar |
| his, her | -rya / -ya | -ryat / -yat | -ryar / -yar |
| their | -nta | -ntat | -ntar |
Wikipedia adds that body parts that come in pairs are usually not marked as plural: mánta is "their hand" (each has one) and mántat is "their hands" (each has two). The -i- in atarinya "my father" is the form after a consonant-ending noun; ataremma "our father" has the matching -e-.
Object Suffixes
A third-person object is added to the end of the verb-plus-subject ending: -s for one, -t for more than one.
Melinyes shows the whole pattern in one word: melin "I love", -ye a linking vowel, and -s "him or her". The page says that Melinyes and Melinyet are reconstructed, not found in Tolkien.
The Verb "To Be"
Quenya has two verbs. Na- is the copula, joining a noun, adjective or pronoun to another word ("A is bright"). Ëa- means "exist".
| Tense | na- (singular) | na- (plural) | ëa- (singular) | ëa- (plural) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aorist (general) | na | nar | ëa | ëar |
| Present | ná | nár | ëa | ëar |
| Past | né | ner | engë | enger |
| Future | nauva | nauvar | euva | euvar |
| Perfect | anaië | anaier | engië | engier |
The copula is optional in the present tense, as in the comparison pattern A (ná) calima lá B from Chapter 6, and is left out when the meaning is clear.
Hands-On Exercises
Give the ending and the free form for "I", "you (polite)" and "he or she", then explain the difference between the "we" with wet and the "we" with met.
📄 View solutionBreak utúvie-lye-s and Melinyet into parts, translate each, and label them attested, reconstructed or built by rule.
📄 View solutionChoose the right form of "to be" for "the ship was", "the ships are" and "the ship will exist". Say whether you need na- or ëa- each time, and explain the difference between mánta and mántat.
📄 View solutionChapter 7 Quick Reference
- Endings: -nye I, -lye you (polite), -tye you (familiar), -se he/she, -sa it
- Free forms: ní, lyé, tyé, sé, sá
- "We": inclusive (you too) vs exclusive; dual (two) vs plural
- Possessives: -(i)nya, -lya, -rya, -nta; add -t / -r for two / many things
- Object: -s (one), -t (more); utúvie-lye-s "you have found it/him/her"
- To be: na- (copula: ná, né, nauva) and ëa- (exist: ëa, engë, euva)