The Pronoun: General information

stasya | 15.06.2012 | 0

The pronoun (займенник /zɑjmɛ'n:ɪk/) is a part of speech which defines objects, qualities or quantities, without naming them.

They answer the questions: who? what? which? whose? how many?

Pronouns have genders, singular/plural form and change according to cases.

There are nine groups of pronouns in Ukrainian language:

  1. Personal pronouns (особові займенники): я (I), ти (you), він, вона, воно (he/she/it), ми (we), ви (you), вони (they);

  2. Possessive pronouns (присвійні займенники) мій (my/mine), твій (you/yours), його, її (his/its, her/hers), наш (our/ours), ваш (your/yours), їхній (their/theirs), свій;

  3. Reflexive pronouns (зворотні займенники): себе (myself/herself/himself/herself/itself/ourselves/themselves/yourselves/oneself);

  4. Interrogative pronouns (питальні займенники): хто? (who?), що? (what?), чий? (whose?), який? (what?), котрий? (which? what?);

  5. Conjunctive pronouns (відносні займенники): хто (who), що (what), чий (whose), який (what), котрий (which, what);

  6. Demonstrative pronouns (вказівні займенники): цей (this), той (that), такий (such), стільки (this much);

  7. Defining pronouns (означальні займенники): всякий, усякий (every; any), весь, увесь, ввесь (all; whole), кожний, кожен (every), інший (another), сам (self; alone), самий (the one; the same);

  8. Indefinite pronouns (неозначені займенники): хтось (somebody), щось (something), хто-небудь (somebody), будь-який (anything), будь-хто (anybody), будь-що (anything) etc.;

  9. Negative pronouns (заперечні займенники): ніхто (nobody; no one), ніщо (nothing), ніякий (no; none; any), нічий (nobody's), ніскільки (not at all; not a bit; nothing).

  1. Personal pronouns define people, other creatures, objects, things.

    All personal pronouns change according to cases and have singular, plural forms. Pronoun він also has genders.

    я — I (sing.)

    ти — you (sing.)

    він — he (sing., masculine)

    вона — she (sing., feminine)

    воно — it (sing., neuter)

    ми — we (pl.)

    вони — they (pl.)

    ви — you (pl.)

  2. Possessive pronouns define possession of an object to the first person: мій (my/mine), to the second: твій (your/yours), ваш (your/yours), the third: його (his, its), її (her/hers), наш (our/ours), їхній (their/theirs) or any person: свій.

    Possessive pronouns (except його, її) change according to cases, genders and have singular, plural forms.

    But unlike other possessive pronouns, свій is used to describe the belonging of an object to any person, which is performing an action.

    For example:

    Він продає свої книги. — He is selling his books (he as a person is performing an action - selling);

    Його книжки дуже відомі. — His books are very popular (there isn't any action here).

  3. Reflexive pronoun себе defines someone, who is performing an action. It does not have gender, singular/plural or Nominative forms, but has other case forms. Reflexive pronoun can be used for any person, one or many. This is basically all English reflexive pronouns in one. Myself, herself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves, yourselves, oneself will all mean себе in Ukrainian.

    Він себе не розуміє. — He does not understand himself.

    Дівчата себе не впізнали. — Girls did not recognise themselves.

    Вона купила собі нове дзеркало. — She bought herself a new mirror.

  4. Interrogative pronouns consist of a question about a person (хто? who?), an object (що? what?), quality (чий? whose? який? what? котрий? which? what?), quantity (скільки? how many?).

    хто, що, скільки change according to cases;

    чий, який, котрий change according to cases, genders and have singular/plural forms.

    Хто ця жінка? — Who is this woman?

    Кого ти шукаєш? — Whom are you looking for? (кого? is a Accusative form of хто?)

    Що ви робите? — What are you doing?

    Чия це сумка? — Whose bag is this?

    Які книжки ви читаєте? — What books do read?

    Котра зараз година? — What (Which) time is it now?

    Скільки тут правил? — How many rules are there?

    The difference between що? (what?) and який? (what?), котрий? (which? what?) lies within their purpose.

    що? (what?) serves to ask about an object in opposite to хто? who?:

    Хто це? (Who is this?) — Що це? (What is this?)

    Кого ти тут знаєш? (Who do you know here?) — Що ти тут маєш? (What do you have here?)

    який? (what?) serves to ask about the quality of a person or an object (mostly):

    Які книжки вам подобаються? (What books do you like?)

    Який ваш улюблений предмет? (What is your favourite subject?)

    котрий? (which? what?) serves to ask about quality as well, but the answer is mostly an ordinal numeral which points out the order of the object in the queue.

    Котра година? (What time is it (now)?) — Восьма. (Eight o'clock.)

    Котрі у нас місця? (What seats do we have?) — Дев'яте та десяте. (Ninth and tenth.)

  5. Conjunctive pronouns the same as interrogative pronouns but without question-marks. They are used according to the same rules as the corresponding interrogative pronouns.

    Я знаю, хто ти. — I know who you are.

    Олівець, який ти мені дав, дуже гострий. — The pencil that you gave me is very sharp.

    They serve as connection between independent and relative clauses.

  6. Demonstrative pronouns define: an object/person — цей (this), той (that); quality — такий (such); quantity — стільки (this much).

    Pronouns цей, той, такий change according to genders, cases and have singular/plural forms (like adjectives).

    Pronoun стільки change according to cases only.

  7. Defining pronouns define the quality in general: весь, увесь, ввесь (all; whole; everybody); всякий, усякий (every; any); кожний, кожен (every); інший (another); сам (self; alone); самий (the one; the same). They change according to genders, cases and have singular/plural forms (like adjectives).

    весь, увесь, ввесь defines the completeness of an object or gathering of objects while всякий, усякий, кожний, кожен in return define separate objects in a certain gathering:

    Завтра всі поїдуть додому. — Tomorrow evebody (all) will go home.

    Кожен учень повинен знати розклад. — Every student has to know schedule.

    інший defines the difference between objects that are being a part of one gathering:

    Йому потрібен інший репетитор з математики. — He needs another Math tutor.

    Pronoun сам emphasizes on the independent role of a specific object. This pronoun is a part of many words (around five hundred) what gives them a reversive or independent meaning: самоаналіз (self-analysis), самозахист (self-defence), самознищення (self-destruction), самовираження (self-expression) etc.

    In idioms сам is often combined with a reflexive pronoun себе:

    бути самим собою — to be yourself,

    сам собі господар — (to be) your own master,

    сам собі ворог — (to be) your own enemy,

    не вірити самому собі — not believe yourself.

  8. Indefinite pronouns define the unknown (indefinite) person, object, quality, quantity: хтось (somebody), щось (something), хто-небудь (somebody; anybody), будь-який (anything), будь-хто (anybody), будь-що (anything) etc. They are made by adding particles будь-, -небудь, аби-, де-, -сь, казна-, хтозна- to the interrogative pronouns with a hyphen (except -сь).

    хто + небудь = хто-небудь,

    що + сь = щось,

    казна + що = казна-що (who knows what).

    Тут хтось є? — Is anyone (someone) here?

    Мені потрібно щось купити. — I need to buy something.

    Він повірить у будь-що. — He will believe in anything.

  9. Negative pronouns define the absence of a person, an object, qualities, quantity: ніхто (nobody; no one), ніщо (nothing), ніякий (no; none; any), нічий (nobody's), ніскільки (not at all; not a bit; nothing). They are made by adding particle ні- to the interrogative pronouns and are written together.

    ні + хто? = ніхто,

    ні + що? = ніщо,

    ні + який? = ніякий,

    ні + чий? = нічий,

    ні + скільки? = ніскільки.

    Він нічого не пам'ятає. — He doesn't remember anything. (He does not remember nothing.)

    If there is a preposition between particle and pronoun then they all are written separately.

    Це не було несподіванкою ні для кого. — This wasn't a surprise for anyone. (This wasn't a surprise for no one.)

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