Irish personal and possessive pronouns are not declined as such, but they do have particular forms.
The demonstrative pronoun sin derives from the article.
See the category list below for other pronoun types: other demonstrative, definite, interrogative, negative, reflexive, relative.
The summary table shows the following forms for the personal pronouns:
Number and person | Copula | Analytic | Emphatic | Possessive [1] | Example Synthetic[2] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
subject [3] | object [4] | copula | analytic | standard | dialect | ||||
Singular | 1st | mé | mé | mise | moL, m' [5] | -im | -im | ||
2nd | tú | tú | thú | tusa | doL, d' [5] | - | -ir | ||
3rd m | é | sé [6] | é | eisean | seisean | aL | - | -idh | |
3rd f | í | sí | í | ise | sise | aH | |||
3rd n | ea [7] | - | |||||||
Plural | 1st | sinn [8] | sinn | sinne | árN | -imid | -imid | ||
muid | muid | muidne | |||||||
2nd | sibh [8] | sibh | sibhse | bhurN | - | -tí | |||
3rd | iad | siad | iad | iadsan | siadsan | aN | - | -id |
The etymology table shows how Irish personal pronouns derive, in whole or in part, from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European pronouns *éǵh₂, *túh₂ and *éy.
Pronoun form | Middle Irish [9] | Old Irish | Proto-Celtic | PIE | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
form | root | ||||
mé | mé | *mī | *me | *éǵh₂ | |
tú | tú | *tū | *túh₂ | ||
é | é | *es | *éy | ||
sé | sé | ||||
í | í? [rfi 1] | sí | *sī | *sih₂ | *só + *éy |
sí [ep 1] | |||||
ea [10] | ed | *id | *éy | ||
sinn | sinni [11] | *snīs | *nēs | *éǵh₂ | |
muid | -mid [12] | ||||
sibh | sib | *swiswis [13] | *wos | *túh₂ | |
iad | íat | [14] | |||
siad | síat? [rfi 2] | ||||
mise | messe [15] | ||||
tusa | tussu | ||||
eisean | ésom | ||||
ise | sis(s)i | ||||
sinne | sinni [16] | *snīsni | |||
sibhse | sib-si | ||||
iadsan | [14] | ||||
mo | mo [rfi 3] | *moy | *moy | *éǵh₂ | |
do [ep 2] | do [rfi 4] | *toy | *toy | *túh₂ | |
aL [ep 3] | aL [ep 4] | *esyo [17] | *ésyo | *éy | |
aH [ep 3] | aH [ep 4] | *esyās [18] | *ésyeh₂s | *éy | |
ár | ar [rfi 5] | *anserom | *n̥serōm | *wéy | |
bhur | for | *sweseros | *wes | *wos | |
aN [ep 3] | aN [ep 4] | *eysom [19] | *éysoHom | *éy |
Number | Person (and gender) | Conjunctive (emphatic) |
Disjunctive (emphatic) |
Possessive determiner |
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | First | mé (mise) |
mo L m' before vowel sounds | |
Second | tú (tusa)1 |
thú (thusa) |
do L d' before vowel sounds | |
Third masculine | sé (seisean) |
é (eisean) |
a L | |
Third feminine | sí (sise) |
í (ise) |
a H | |
Third neuter | — | ea | — | |
Plural | First | muid, sinn (muidne, muide), (sinne) |
ár E | |
Second | sibh (sibhse)1 |
bhur E | ||
Third | siad (siadsan) |
iad (iadsan) |
a E |