Chapter 13
Reflexive Pronouns
In English, the reflexive pronouns are identified by the termination "-self." When the subject of the verb performs the verb on him/herself, instead of using a personal pronoun, we use reflexive pronouns. E.g.
Cicerö më laudävit. - personal pronoun: 1st Sing Acc - [Cicero praised me.]
Cicerö së laudävit. - reflexive pronoun: 3rd Sing Acc - [Cicero praised himself.]
You're going to love the declension of reflexive pronouns:
| 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | |
| Singular | |||
| Nom |
[---]
|
[---]
|
[---]
|
| Gen | meï | tuï | suï |
| Dat | mihi | tibi | sibi |
| Acc | më | të | së |
| Abl | më | të | së |
| Plural | |||
| Nom |
[---]
|
[---]
|
[---]
|
| Gen | nostrï | vestrï | suï |
| Dat | nöbïs | vöbïs | sibi |
| Acc | nös | vös | së |
| Abl | nöbïs | vöbïs | së |
The reflexive possessive is identical to the personal pronoun in the 1st and 2nd person - except for the fact that it has no nominative. Can you guess why there is no nominative reflexive? In the third person, the singular and plural forms of the reflexive are identical.
You will always be able to distinguish between the reflexive and the possessive pronoun by determining the relationship between the pronoun and the subject. E.g.
The subject and object are identical -> reflexive/ "-self". The subject and object are different -> personal pronoun:
Cicero praised himself - Cicerö së laudävit.
Cicero praised him. Cicerö eum laudävit.
Egö më laudävï. - I praised myself.
Egö eam laudävï. - I praised her.