Personal pronouns inflect for number and case. The singular and plural forms have different stems. All the case forms of personal pronouns are given in the table below.
|
Person |
Number |
Direct Case |
Oblique Case |
Dative Form |
|
I |
singular |
मैं maiN 'I' |
मुझ mujh 'me' |
मुझे mujhe 'to me' |
|
plural |
हम ham 'we' |
हम ham 'us' |
हमें hameN 'to us' |
|
|
II |
singular |
तू tuu 'you' |
तुझ tujh 'you' |
तुझे tujhe 'to you' |
|
plural |
तुम tum 'you' आप aap 'you' |
तुम tum 'you' आप aap 'you' |
तुम्हें tumheN 'to you' आपको / आप को aapko / aap ko 'to you' |
|
|
III |
singular |
यह yeh 'she, he, it' वह vo 'she, he, it' |
इस is 'her, him, it' उस us 'her, him, it' |
इसे ise 'to her, him, it' उसे use 'to her, him, it' |
|
plural |
ये ye 'they' वे ve 'they' |
इन in 'them' उन un 'them' |
इन्हें inheN 'to them' उन्हें unheN 'to them' |
The system of personal pronouns requires some special explanations:
1. The personal pronouns have a special dative form that is different from the oblique one. This form can be also expressed by the oblique pronoun with the postposition को ko.
Ex: हम को / हमको ham ko / hamko 'to us'
उन को / उनको un ko / unko 'to them'
तुझ को / तुझको tujh ko / tujhko 'to you'
2. The pronoun तू tuu 'you' is rather seldom used in the modern language. (It is used only to show the intimacy between the speakers, as when a mother addresses her baby, or to show a lack of respect). The word तुम tum 'you' often functions as the second person singular pronoun. आप aap 'you' is an extra-polite, honorific form.
3. The pronoun हम ham 'we' can be used in the singular instead of मैं maiN 'I'. Speakers sometimes uses this form in an ironic way.
4. In the plural, the word लोग log 'people' is often added to the pronouns in order to emphasize plurality:
Ex: हम लोग ham log 'we' (literally: 'we people')
तुम लोग tum log 'you' (literally: 'you people')
5. Before the postposition ने ne (used in the ergative construction), the plural pronouns of the third person also have special forms: इन्हों (ने) inhoN (ne) उन्हों (ने) unhoN (ne) respectively.
6. The personal pronouns of the third person coincide in form with the demonstrative pronouns.
7. When speaking about a person who is older or higher ranking, the honorific वे ve should be used instead of वह vo.
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