Pronouns

Lesson 5

The pronouns in Numo are based on both words from real languages and logical derivation. They behave the same as any other noun, never changing for case and being modifiable by adjectives, however unlike other nouns they have a possessive form derived by appending -n.

The following list is in the format "Type of pronoun: Pronoun (English translation) Possessive pronoun (English Translation)"

• First person singular: Anu (I, me) Anun (My, mine)

• Second person singular: Tu (You) Tun (Your, yours)

• Third person masculine: Pu (He, him) Pun (His)

• Third person feminine: Mu (She, her) Mun (Her, hers)

• Third person neutral: Ku (It) Kun (Its)

• Reflexive singular: Su (Myself, yourself, themself) Sun (My own, your own, their own)

The plural versions are formed by switching the u for an i.

• First person plural: Ani (We, us) Anin (Our, ours)

• Second person plural: Ti (You, y'all) Tin (Your, yours)

• Third person plural: Ki (They, Them) Kin (Their, theirs)

• Reflexive plural: Si (Ourselves, yourselves, themselves) Sin (Our own, your own, their own)

Su and Si reflect the subject. Whatever the subject (the noun doing the verb) of the sentence is, that's what they refer to. There are no restrictions on what nouns and pronouns can be reflected by su and si.

The pronouns can only ever be nouns; placing them in an adjectival position is ungrammatical. The possessive pronouns can be adjectives or nouns, for example anun can mean both "my" and "mine" depending on its position in the sentence.

For non-binary persons or those of unknown gender, although ku can be used to refer to people, Numo also has the determiner dau (that person/those people) which refers specifically to humans. Note that since dau is not a pronoun it can't take the -n suffix to become possessive, instead using the preposition de like all other nouns.

Pronouns in Numo can be modified by adjectives. One way you will see this used is in phrases like ku rod, meaning "the red one".

Practice 5

Fill in the blanks with the correct pronouns.

You want to tell a girl you like her. You would say to her __ ames __.

You're telling someone you will give a certain object to your male friend. You would say to them __ ges __ al __.

You're comparing your white cat to your friend's black cat. You would say to them Felin __ awes pulu biel, ai __ awes pulu kuro.

Vocabulary 5

Pulu - Fur

Biel - White

Kuro - Black