personal pronouns

Russian Nominative Personal Pronouns

In Russian, nominative personal pronouns function similarly to English subjects, but they carry unique grammatical and social rules. Below is a breakdown of the pronouns: я (I), ты (you - singular/informal), он (he), она́ (she), оно́ (it), мы (we), вы (you - plural/formal), and они́ (they).

1. Identification and the word "Это"

Unlike English, which often uses objective forms (e.g., "It’s me"), Russian always uses the nominative case after the word это (this is/it is) to identify someone.

• Это я (Éto ya, “It’s me”)
• Это он (Éto on, “It’s him”)
• Это мы (Éto my, “It’s us”)

2. Subject Agreement and Omission

In the present and future tenses, pronouns are often used for clarity, but they can be omitted if the verb ending makes the subject obvious, especially in casual or official speech.

• я читаю (ya chitáyu, “I read”) — standard usage.
• Начну сейчас! (Nachnú seychás!, “I’ll begin now!”) — omitted "я" because the ending -у clearly indicates "I".
• Прошу предоставить мне отпуск (Proshú predostávit’ mne ótpusk, “I request leave”) — common in official requests.

In the past tense, the pronoun is vital because the verb only indicates gender, not person:

• я пришёл (ya prishyól, “I came” — male speaker)
• я пришла́ (ya prishlá, “I came” — female speaker)

3. "Я" as a Noun

The pronoun я can occasionally function as a neuter noun that can be modified by adjectives or possessives.

• моё второ́е я (moyó vtoróye ya, “my alter ego” / "my second self")

4. The Versatility of "Мы" (We)

The pronoun мы triggers plural verb forms and adjectives. Beyond a simple group, it has several stylistic uses:

• General/Social: мы, говоря́ о́бществе... (my, govoryá óbshchestve..., “we, meaning society...”)
• Royal We: мы, всеросси́йский импера́тор (my, vserossíyskiy imperátor, “we, Emperor of all Russia”)
• Authorial We: Used in academic writing: мы пришли́ к вы́воду (my prishlí k vývodu, “we have come to the conclusion”)
• Jocular: Мы улыба́емся! (My ulybáyemsya!, “So we’re smiling!”)

5. Choosing Between "Ты" and "Вы"

Russian distinguishes between informal and formal "you."

• Ты (Informal): Used with friends, family, children, and animals. It can also be used generically (like "one"):
  Ты набира́ешь по́лную грудь во́здуха… (Ty nabiráyesh pólnuyu grud’ vózdukha…, “You fill your lungs with air…”)
• Вы (Formal/Plural): Used for groups or to show respect to a single adult. In formal letters, it is often capitalized as Вы.

Grammar Note: Вы always takes plural verbs. However, if addressing one person, adjectives can be singular or plural:

• Вы тако́й до́брый (Vy takóy dóbryy, “You are so kind” — to a man, long form adjective)
• Вы пра́вы (Vy právy, “You are right” — plural short form is used even for one person)

6. Third Person and Impersonal Sentences

The pronouns он, она́, оно́, они́ are used to point out location or identify things/people, especially answering "where" questions:

• Где брат? — Вот он. (Gde brat? — Vot on, “Where is my brother? — There he is.”)
• Где кни́га? — Вот она́. (Gde kníga? — Vot oná, “Where is the book? — There it is.”)

In impersonal constructions (where "they" refers to people in general), Russian often omits the pronoun они́ entirely:

• Здесь стро́ят о́бщежитие (Zdes’ stróyat obshchezhítie, “They are building a hostel here”) — note that the verb is plural, but "они" is not used.