Pronouns and Related Words
Personal pronouns
me
nu
yu
yu
ta (lu, ela)
it
li
me — I
yu — you (sg., pl.)
ta — he, she, it (common for animate)
lu — he
ela — she
it — it (inanimate)
nu — we
li — they
Pronoun yu
General pronoun for 2nd person. If it's necessary to stress that you address a group, not a single person, you can use combinations like “yu oli” (you all), “yu ambi” (you both), “yu tri” (you three). Also it's possible to use "yu un" (you one) to clarify that you've switched from a group to an individual.
Pronoun ta
General pronoun for animate objects in 3rd person singular:
Kwo ta shwo? — What does he/she say?
Me vidi ta. — I see him/her (or an animal).
Es doga. Ta nami Sharik — It's a dog. Its name is Sharik.
This pronoun can be used instead of lu and ela, which is comfortable for native speakers of languages without genders and special pronouns for "he" and "she" (e. g., Chinese, Finnish). Besides, it is convenient to use this pronoun in situations when the gender of a person is not defined exactly:
Es sempre hao si jen jan kwo ta yao. — It is always good when a man (or it may be a woman as well) knows what he/she wants.
Pronoun it
The pronoun it relates to inanimate objects:
Se es auto. It go kway. — This is a car. It goes fast.
It does not have the meaning "this, that" (as reference to the actions, conditions or events mentioned in the preceding or following statement); these meanings are expressed by pronouns "se" (this) and "to" (that):
Me jan to. — I know that. ("Me jan it" would mean "I know it (something inanimate)").
Declension of personal pronouns
Personal pronouns are invariable:
Me jan ke yu lubi me. — I know that you love me.
Me dumi mucho om yu. — I think much about you.
Ob yu dumi-te mucho om me? — Did you think much about me?
Ela lubi lu. — She loves him.
Lu lubi ela. — He loves her.
The dative case is marked with the preposition "a":
Dai a me sey kitaba, plis! — Give me please this book!
Me dai sey kitaba a ela. — I give this book to her.
Lu diki a nu luy nove bao. — He shows us his new bag.
Dai a li pyu taim. — Give them more time.
Possessive forms of personal pronouns
These may be regularly derived with the help of the particle “ney”:
me-ney
nu-ney
yu-ney
yu-ney
yu-oli-ney
ta-ney
lu-ney
ela-ney
it-ney
li-ney
But there are also shorter forms:
may
nuy
yur
yur
suy (luy, elay)
suy
ley
may — my
yur — your (sg., pl.)
suy — its, his, her, one's (general for 3rd person singular)
luy — his
elay — her
nuy — our
ley — their
Suy is the universal possessive pronoun for the 3rd person singular. It can be used instead of ta-ney, lu-ney, ela-ney, it-ney:
Suy jamile okos. — His/her beautiful eyes.
Es auto, suy kolor es rude. — This is a car, its colour is red.
It is natural to use "suy" or "ta-ney" in situations when the gender of a person is not specified:
Jen yusi ta-ney jansa fo adapti a milyoo. — Man uses his knowledge in order to adjust to the environment.
Demonstrative pronouns se and to
se — this (as a noun)
to — that (as a noun)
sey — this, these (before a noun, as an adjective)
toy — that, those (before a noun, as an adjective)
SE — this.
Used as a noun. Se, as compared with to, indicates a closer (in time or place) object, action, event, etc.
Se es auto. — This is a car (these are cars). (‘Se’ may be omitted in such sentences: Es auto. — This is a car, literally "is car".)
Me jan se. — I know this.
TO — that.
Used as a noun. To, as compared with se, indicates a more remote (in time or place) object, action, event, etc.
Se es auto e to es bisikla. — This is a car, and that is a bicycle.
To es avion, bu faula. — That is an airplane, not a bird.
Me ve shwo a yu om to. — I shall tell you about that.
Me jan to. — I know that/it.
To es — that is, i. e.
The expression "to ke" denotes "the thing(s) which, what":
To ke yu shwo a me es prave. — What you tell me is right.
SEY — this, these (before a noun, as an adjective).
Sey auto es hwan. — This car is yellow.
Sey autos es hwan. — These cars are yellow.
Ob sey dafta es yu-ney? — Is this copybook yours?
Sey daftas bu es yu-ney, es me-ney. — These copybooks aren't yours, they are mine.
TOY — that, those (before a noun, as an adjective).
Sey auto es hwan e toy auto es blu. — This car is yellow, and that car is blue.
Hu es toy jen? — Who is that person?
Ob toy dafta es yu-ney? — Is that copybook yours?
Toy daftas bu es yu-ney, es me-ney. — Those copybooks aren't yours, they are mine.
Sey-la, toy-la
Sey-la, toy-la — this (one) or that (one), the one — may replace objects already mentioned.
Examples:
Dai a me kitaba! — Kwel? — Sey-la on tabla. — Give me the book! — Which one? — The one on the table.
Dai a me kitabas! — Kwel? — Sey-las on tana. — Give me books! — Which ones? — These ones on the shelf.
Walaa dwa kitaba. Sey-la es hao e toy-la es buhao. — Here are two books. This one is good, and that one is bad.
Walaa daftas. Sey-las es fo skribi e toy-las es fo rasmi. — Here are copybooks. These are for writing, and those are for drawing.
Interrogative and relative pronouns
kwo
what:
Kwo es? — What is it?
Me jan kwo yu dumi. — I know what you think.
ke
- that (relative pronoun):
Me jan ke yu lubi me. — I know that you love me.
- begins a modifying group after a noun, without prepositions:
Kitaba ke yu he lekti. — The book that you have read.
Dom ke nu jivi. — The house in which we live.
Jen ke me shwo. — The man I am talking about.
Dao ke yu go. — The way you are going.
kwel
what, which (interrogative):
Kwel es lu? — What is he like?
Kwel de li? — Which (one) from them?
kel
which, what (relative):
jen kel zai lekti kitaba — the person that is reading a book;
kitaba om kel nu shwo-te — the book about which we spoke.
Combination "lo kel" means "what, which" as a noun:
Ela lai-te sun, lo kel joisi-te me gro. — She came quickly which pleased me much.
In the genitive kel-ney:
profesor kel-ney kitabas nulwan lekti — the professor whose books nobody reads.
komo
- how, in what way:
Komo lu zin-te hir? — How did he enter here?
Me bu jan komo lu zin-te hir. — I don't know how he entered.
- how, how much:
Komo gao es toy baum? — How high is that tree?
kom
- as (in comparisons, references):
gran kom elefanta — big as an elefant;
kom me yo shwo-te — as I've already said;
- as, in the capacity of:
nau me gun kom disainer — now I work as a designer.
kwanto
how much, as much, how many, as many:
kwanto it kosti? — how much does it cost?
Me bu ve pagi tanto kwanto lu yao. — I will not pay as much as he wants.
tanto
so much, so many, thus much:
tanto kway kom posible — as quick as possible
Me es gro-fatigi-ney! Bu gai gun tanto. — I am so tired! I shouldn't work so much.
tanto kwanto treba — as much as needed.
tanto ke me jan — as far as I know
bu tanto…kom — not so much…as.
Other
way — why
wen — when
wo — where
fon wo — where from
a wo — where, where to
Indefinite personal pronoun oni
Makes impersonal sentences like:
oni shwo — they say
oni samaji ke... — one understands that..., it's clear that...
Reflexive pronoun swa
Common reflexive pronoun for all persons and numbers:
yu jan swa — you know yourself
ela heni swa — she hates herself
me he woshi swa — I washed myself
lu he rasi swa — he shaved himself
li senti swa hao — they feel themselves good.
The possessive form is swa-ney (one's own, my own, your own, our own, their own):
bay swa-ney okos — with one's own eyes.
The pronoun wan
It means an individual:
Pyan wan — (someone who is) drunk.
Adulte wan — an adult.
Wan kel es hir, chu! — (The one) who is here, come out!
Wan kel jan, ta bu shwo. — He who knows, he doesn't speak (the one who knows, doesn't speak).
Toy wan kel yao mog go wek. — Those who want may go away.
The system of pronouns and adverbs
In LdP there is a system of compound pronouns and adverbs. Its important elements are:
koy — some
eni — any, whatever
kada — every
otre — other, another
ol — all, the whole of
nul — no (whatever), none (whatever)
These elements combining with others (loko — place (the suffix "lok" means "place" too), taim — time, ves — time (instance), wan — an individual, komo — how, -sa — noun suffix) may produce compound pronouns and adverbs:
koysa — something
koywan — someone
koylok — somewhere
koytaim — "somewhen", sometime
koygrad — to some degree
koykomo — in some way
enisa — anything, whatever
eniwan — anybody, anyone, any (person)
enilok — anywhere
enitaim — anytime
enikomo — in any way
kadawan — everyone
kadalok — everywhere
oltaim — all the time, constantly
nullok — nowhere
nulgrad — not in the least
nulwan — nobody
nulves — not once, never
unves — once, one day
koyves — sometimes
otreves — next time, another time
enives — ever (at any time)
otrelok — in another place.
But there are also short, simple words for some concepts:
always — sempre
never — neva
nothing — nixa
everything — olo
all, everybody — oli.
