Language/Standard-estonian/Grammar/Personal-Pronouns
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Introduction
Welcome to the "Complete 0 to A1 Standard Estonian Course"! In this lesson, we will learn about personal pronouns in Estonian, their declension, and their role in expressing the subject, object, or possessive relationship. Personal pronouns are a crucial part of everyday communication in any language. Therefore, having a good understanding of Estonian personal pronouns will help you to communicate effectively in Estonian.
Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Cases and pronouns & Conjunctions.
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns are words that replace nouns when referring to people or things. In Estonian, personal pronouns have different forms that depend on the grammatical case and number (singular or plural).
Below are the Estonian personal pronouns:
Person | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
1st person | mina | meie |
2nd person | sina | teie |
3rd person | tema (masculine) / tema (feminine and neuter) | nemad |
Note that "tama" is used for the masculine gender, while "tema" is used for the feminine and neutral gender.
Declension of Personal Pronouns
Like nouns, personal pronouns in Estonian are declined according to their grammatical case and number. The declension of personal pronouns is necessary to match the case of the noun they replace in a sentence.
In the table below, you can see the declension of Estonian personal pronouns in different cases:
Nominative | Genitive | Partitive | Illative | Inessive | Elative | Allative | Adessive | Ablative | Translative | Terminative | Essive | Abessive | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st person singular | mina | minu | mind | minu | minus | minust | minule | minul | mult | minuks | minnagi | minuna | minuta |
2nd person singular | sina | sinu | sind | sinu | sinust | sinust | sinule | sinul | sust | sinuks | sinnagi | sinuna | sinuta |
3rd person singular (masculine) | tema | tema | teda / talle | temasse | temas / temas | temast | temale / talle | temas / temas | temalt | temaks / teeks | temani | tena | temata |
3rd person singular (feminine) | tema | tema | teda / talle | temasse | temas / temas | temast | temale / talle | temas / temas | temalt | temaks / teeks | temani | tena | temata |
3rd person singular (neutral) | tema | tema | seda / talle | sellesse / temasse | sees / temas | seest | sellele / temale | sees / temas | sealt | selleks / teeks | seal | sena / tena | seta / temata |
1st person plural | meie | meie | meid | meisse | meies / meis | meist | meile | meil | meilt | meiks | meini | meina / meisna | meita / meitata |
2nd person plural | teie | teie | teid | teilmasse | teies / teis | teist | teile | teil | teilt | teiks | teini | teina / teisna | teita / teitata |
3rd person plural | nemad | nende | neid | neisse | neis / nendes | neist | neile | neil | neilt | neiks | neini | neina / nendesna | neita / neitata |
Using Personal Pronouns in Sentences
Now that we know the Estonian personal pronouns and their declension, we can start using them in sentences. In Estonian, personal pronouns are usually placed before the verb in a sentence.
Below are examples of personal pronouns in Estonian used in different cases:
- Mina räägin inglise keelt. (I speak English.)
- Ta luges minu raamatut. (He read my book.)
- Kas sa nägid teda? (Did you see him/her?)
- Meie armastame Eestit. (We love Estonia.)
- Kas te teate seda laulu? (Do you know this song?)
- Nad töötavad koos. (They work together.)
Conclusion
Personal pronouns are an essential part of Estonian language communication. Through this lesson, you have learned the Estonian personal pronouns, their declension, and how to use them in sentences. Understanding Estonian personal pronouns will help you to communicate effectively in Estonian and enhance your overall learning experience of the Estonian language. Keep practicing personal pronouns in different cases to improve your fluency in Estonian.
Congratulations! You have successfully completed the "Standard Estonian Grammar → Personal Pronouns" lesson in the "Complete 0 to A1 Standard Estonian Course". Let's move on to the next lesson!
Well done on mastering this lesson! Don't miss these related pages to expand your knowledge: Negation & 0 to A1 Course.
Other Lessons
- Nouns
- Prepositions
- Adjective Declension
- Verb to be and personal pronouns
- Questions
- Give your Opinion
- Nouns and possessive suffixes
- How to Use Have
- Present Tense
◀️ Common Greetings — Previous Lesson | Next Lesson — Noun Cases ▶️ |