A1 · Section 10
The Pronouns
The personal pronouns, the two words for *we* that English cannot tell apart, the possessives that distinguish what is mine from what is ours, and the demonstratives that do duty for the third person — graded by respect, and running in a near series beside a far one.
The Personal Pronouns
52.Telugu has personal pronouns for the first and second persons only. There is no third-person pronoun proper: for he, she and it the language uses its demonstratives, which is why gender enters the third person and nowhere else (¶55).
- నేను రవి.
- nēnu ravi.
- I am Ravi.
- నువ్వు మా అన్న.
- nuvvu mā anna.
- You are my elder brother. — నువ్వు to a relative — familiar
- మీరు ఎవరు?
- mīru evaru?
- Who are you? — మీరు to one stranger, politely
| nominative | transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 sg. | నేను (nēnu) | nēnu | I |
| 2 sg. familiar | నువ్వు (nuvvu) | nuvvu | you |
| 1 pl. exclusive | మేము (mēmu) | mēmu | we (not you) |
| 1 pl. inclusive | మనం (manaṁ) | manaṁ | we (and you) |
| 2 pl. and polite sg. | మీరు (mīru) | mīru | you |
The Two Words for *We*
53.మేము (mēmu) means we excluding the person spoken to; మనం (manaṁ) means we including them. English we is ambiguous between the two; Telugu is not.
- మనం ఇక్కడ.
- manaṁ ikkaḍa.
- We are here (you and I).
- మేము ఇక్కడ. మీరు అక్కడ.
- mēmu ikkaḍa. mīru akkaḍa.
- We are here. You are there. — the second sentence is what makes the exclusion audible
- మా ఇల్లు ఇక్కడ.
- mā illu ikkaḍa.
- Our house is here. — the possessive of మేము — and also the ordinary way to say *my* house (¶54)
| word | who is in the group | use it when | |
|---|---|---|---|
| exclusive | మేము (mēmu) | the speaker and others, but not the hearer | reporting to someone what your party did |
| inclusive | మనం (manaṁ) | the speaker, the hearer, and any others | proposing, inviting, or speaking of the company you are both in |
- [1] Krishnamurti and Gwynn’s illustration: if A says to B we came home meaning himself and others not including B, he says మేము ఇంటికి వచ్చాము (mēmu iṇṭiki vaccāmu); meaning himself and B, మనం ఇంటికి వచ్చాము. (manaṁ iṇṭiki vaccāmu)
The Possessive Stems
54.Each personal pronoun has a possessive stem used before a noun and invariable for gender, number and case: నా, నీ, మా, మన, మీ. (nā, nī, mā, mana, mī) As in ¶37, నా (nā) is only of what is the speaker's alone and మా (mā) of what is shared; మన (mana) is the possessive of మనం (manaṁ) — మన ఊరు. (mana ūru)
- ఇది నా పుస్తకం.
- idi nā pustakaṁ.
- This is my book. — a book is one’s own — నా
- ఇది మా ఇల్లు.
- idi mā illu.
- This is my house. — a household has other members — మా, though English says *my*
- ఆమె మా అమ్మ.
- āme mā amma.
- She is my mother. — likewise
- నీ పేరు ఏమిటి?
- nī pēru ēmiṭi?
- What is your name?
- మన ఊరు
- mana ūru
- our village — yours and mine — the possessive of మనం
| pronoun | possessive | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 sg. | నేను (nēnu) | నా (nā) | my — of what is mine alone |
| 2 sg. familiar | నువ్వు (nuvvu) | నీ (nī) | your |
| 1 pl. exclusive | మేము (mēmu) | మా (mā) | our — and my, of anything shared |
| 1 pl. inclusive | మనం (manaṁ) | మన (mana) | our, yours and mine |
| 2 pl. and polite sg. | మీరు (mīru) | మీ (mī) | your |
The Third Person, and How Much Respect It Carries
55.For the third person Telugu uses demonstratives, several for each gender, graded by respect. వాడు (vāḍu) of a grown man is an insult, and అది (adi) of a woman is worse; the ordinary forms for a stranger are అతను (atanu) or ఆయన (āyana) of a man and ఆమె (āme) of a woman.
- ఆయన ఎవరు?
- āyana evaru?
- Who is he? (of a man one respects)
- ఆమె ఎవరు?
- āme evaru?
- Who is she?
- అది పెద్ద చెట్టు.
- adi pedda ceṭṭu.
- That is a big tree. — అది of a thing carries no rudeness — only of a person
| of a male person | of a female person | degree of respect | |
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | వాడు (vāḍu) | అది (adi) | very informal, intimate, impolite |
| singular | అతను (atanu) | ఆవిడ (āviḍa) | informal |
| singular | ఆయన (āyana) | ఆమె (āme) | formal, and the ordinary polite choice |
| singular | వారు (vāru) | వారు (vāru) | very polite — a plural form used of one person |
| plural | వాళ్ళు, వారు (vāḷḷu, vāru) | వాళ్ళు, వారు (vāḷḷu, vāru) | one form for people of either sex (¶49) |
- [1] వారు (vāru) takes a plural verb even of one person, which is how respect is marked in the verb as well as in the pronoun.
- [2] A single person of the first degree of respect takes వారు (vāru) and with it a plural verb, as Brown notes: మా తండ్రి నాకు యిచ్చిరి (mā taṇḍri nāku yicciri), "my father gave me", literally "our father gave (pl.)".
The Near Series and the Far
56.Beside the far third-person series in అ (a)- runs a near series in ఇ (i)-, of what is close to the speaker: ఇతను, ఈమె, ఇది, వీళ్ళు (itanu, īme, idi, vīḷḷu) against అతను, ఆమె, అది, వాళ్ళు. (atanu, āme, adi, vāḷḷu) The two series are parallel — genders, respect, verb agreement — so ¶55 holds for both; this is the ఇ- / అ (i- / a)- opposition of ¶35.
- ఇది నా పుస్తకం. అది మా ఇల్లు.
- idi nā pustakaṁ. adi mā illu.
- This is my book. That is my house. — near and far, of things
- ఇతను మా అన్న.
- itanu mā anna.
- This one is my elder brother. — near, of a male person
- వీళ్ళు మా స్నేహితులు.
- vīḷḷu mā snēhitulu.
- These are my friends. — near, masculine plural — persons of either sex
- ఇవి నా పుస్తకాలు.
- ivi nā pustakālu.
- These are my books. — near, non-masculine plural
| near — ఇ (i)- | far — అ (a)- | of what | |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine sg. | వీడు / ఇతను / ఈయన (vīḍu / itanu / īyana) | వాడు / అతను / ఆయన (vāḍu / atanu / āyana) | a male person |
| non-masculine sg. | ఇది / ఈమె / ఈవిడ (idi / īme / īviḍa) | అది / ఆమె / ఆవిడ (adi / āme / āviḍa) | a woman, an animal, a thing |
| masculine pl. | వీళ్ళు / వీరు (vīḷḷu / vīru) | వాళ్ళు / వారు (vāḷḷu / vāru) | persons of either sex |
| non-masculine pl. | ఇవి (ivi) | అవి (avi) | animals and things |
Vocabulary
- నువ్వుnuvvu
- you (singular, familiar) · pronoun
- nuvvu
- మేముmēmu
- we (not including you) · pronoun
- mēmu
- మనంmanaṁ
- we (including you) · pronoun
- manaṁ
- మీరుmīru
- you (plural or polite) · pronoun
- mīru
- ఆయనāyana
- he (formal, respectful) · pronoun
- āyana
- వాడుvāḍu
- he (very informal; rude of a stranger) · pronoun
- vāḍu
- వారుvāru
- he (plural in form, the highest degree of respect, used of one person) · pronoun
- vāru
- మనmana
- our (yours and mine) · pronoun
- mana
- ఇతనుitanu
- he (near series) · pronoun
- itanu
- ఈమెīme
- she (near series) · pronoun
- īme
- మీmī
- your (plural or polite) · pronoun
- mī