Pronouns

The Personal Pronouns Declined

42.The personal pronouns have their own forms, which must be learned as a list — they follow none of the noun declensions. Three cases have now been met: the nominative for the subject (¶14), the accusative for the object (¶22), and the genitive. Observe that the third person has one genitive for each gender, and that jų serves both genders in the plural.

Jis mane mato.

He sees me.

Mes jų nematome.

We do not see them. — genitive after a negated verb

Ar tu jį pažįsti?

Do you know him?

The Possessive Pronouns

43.The possessives are mano, tavo, jo, jos, mūsų, jūsų, jų. They are indeclinable: they take no ending for gender, number or case, and stand unchanged before the noun however that noun is declined. This is one of the few places where Lithuanian asks nothing of the learner. Note that in the third person and in the plural the possessive is simply the genitive of ¶42 — jo namas is literally "of-him house".

Tai mano brolis.

This is my brother.

Aš matau tavo katę.

I see your cat.

Mūsų mokytoja yra gera.

Our teacher is good.

The Reflexive Possessive Savo

44.When the possessor is the subject of the same sentence, Lithuanian requires savo in place of jo, jos, jų. The distinction is not a nicety: jo refers to somebody other than the subject, and using it where savo is meant says something different. English, having no such word, is ambiguous here and Lithuanian is not.

Jis myli savo brolį.

He loves his (own) brother.

Jis myli jo brolį.

He loves his (another man's) brother. — a different man's brother — the only reading

Aš skaitau savo knygą.

I am reading my own book. — savo may replace mano and tavo too, where the possessor is the subject

• [1] In the first and second persons savo is preferred but mano and tavo are not wrong, because no ambiguity is possible: aš can only be aš. In the third person savo is obligatory.

Jūs as the Polite Form

45.Jūs is both the plural "you" and the polite singular, used to one person who is a stranger, an elder, or a superior. The verb stands in the plural with it even when one person is meant. In letters it is written with a capital, Jūs. Using tu to a stranger is a real discourtesy, and the change to tu is something Lithuanians propose explicitly.

Ar Jūs kalbate lietuviškai?

Do you speak Lithuanian? — to one person, politely

Ar tu kalbi lietuviškai?

Do you speak Lithuanian? — to a friend or a child

Kaip Jūsų vardas?

What is your name?

When the Pronoun May Be Left Out

46.Because the personal ending names the person (¶24), the subject pronoun is normally omitted unless it is emphatic or needed to prevent confusion. Two places require it: the second conjugation, where tu and jis share the form -i (¶36), and the third person of every conjugation, where one form serves both numbers and both genders.

Dirbu Vilniuje.

I work in Vilnius. — the -u says 'I' already

Aš dirbu, o ji nedirba.

I work, but she does not. — pronouns kept because the two are contrasted

Tu turi brolį.

You have a brother. — turi alone would be ambiguous

Tai in Naming and Introducing

47.Tai — this is, that is — introduces or identifies, and does not change for the gender or number of what follows. It is the word with which people and things are presented, and yra may be left out after it.

Tai mano sesuo.

This is my sister.

Tai yra mūsų namas.

This is our house.

Tai Jonas ir Rūta.

This is Jonas and Rūta. — unchanged before a plural