In this fundamental post, we’ll be exploring the personal pronouns, личные местоимения, in Russian.
This is far from a complex post. In spite of that, I hope it proves to be useful to you. Let’s begin!
| я [first-person singular] | I |
| ты [second-person singular] | you [informal; use with people whom you know very well, or with whom you have a casual relationship] |
| он [third-person singular] | he; it |
| она [third-person singular] | she; it |
| оно [third-person singular] | it |
| мы [first-person plural] | we |
| вы [second-person plural and singular] | you [formal; use with people whom you don’t know very well, or with whom you have a formal relationship] you [plural; use with more than one person regardless of whether you know them well or not] |
| они [third-person plural] | they |
| When addressing only one person formally, please write вы with a capital letter: Вы. When addressing a group of people, however, don’t write it with a capital letter, unless it starts a sentence. |
| Я американец. А Вы? I’m American. And you? [addressing one person formally] |
| Я американец. А вы? I’m American. And you? [addressing more than one person formally or informally] |
Although this rule should be followed to make the distinction, it’s often not. Context should allow you to properly decipher which you is being used.
| In addition to meaning, he and she, the pronouns он and она can also serve as an equivalent for it, since in Russian there’s not an easy translation for it. In fact, several words can serve as a translation for it. The pronoun оно translates as it, but you won’t use it as often. |
Observe these examples:
| Это шкаф. Он дорогой. This is a cupboard. It’s expensive. |
| Это юбка. Она дорогая. This is a skirt. It’s expensive. |
| Это платье. Оно дорогое. This is a dress. It’s expensive. |
That’s all for this short and simple lesson.
My Slavic Studies 