weak pronouns in Catalan
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This article discusses the forms and functions of the
personal pronoun Personal pronouns are pronouns that are associated primarily with a particular grammatical person – first person (as ''I''), second person (as ''you''), or third person (as ''he'', ''she'', ''it'', ''they''). Personal pronouns may also take dif ...
s in Catalan grammar.


Strong pronouns

The "strong" pronouns () in Catalan have the following forms: These forms are used as subject pronouns (with the exception of ''si''), and also as disjunctive pronouns, for example, after a preposition. *''Jo encara no en sé gaire.'' ("I still don't know much about it.") *''Ell, no crec que vingui.'' ("Him, I don't think he's coming.") *''Han preguntat per vosaltres.'' ("They asked about you.") The first person singular pronoun has a special form ''mi'' after most prepositions. *''Queda't amb mi.'' ("Stay with me.") However, the form ''jo'' is used with some prepositions, for example, in ''segons jo'' ("according to me"), and in coordinated structures with another noun or pronoun: ''contra tu i jo'' ("against you and me"). The third person reflexive pronoun ''si'' (both singular and plural) cannot be used as a subject. It most commonly appears after a preposition, often reinforced by ''mateix'': *''Ho va comprar per a si mateix.'' ("He bought it for himself.") *''Ho va comprar per a si mateixa.'' ("She bought it for herself.") *''Ho van comprar per a si mateixos.'' ("They bought it for themselves (masculine).") *''Ho van comprar per a si mateixes.'' ("They bought it for themselves (feminine).") The 2nd person polite pronouns are ''vostè'' (singular) and ''vostès'' (plural). They combine with 3rd person verbs. *''Vostè em faria un favor?'' ("Would you do me a favor?") The older form ''vós'' (with 2nd person plural verb agreement) can be found in some varieties of Catalan, and in contexts like administrative texts. The 1st person
majestic plural The royal ''we'', majestic plural (), or royal plural, is the use of a plural pronoun (or corresponding plural-inflected verb forms) used by a single person who is a monarch or holds a high office to refer to themselves. A more general term fo ...
is expressed with the pronoun ''Nós'' (in place of ''nosaltres''). There exists as well an impersonal subject pronoun ''hom'' (unmarked for either gender or number), always used with 3rd person singular verbs, nowadays archaic and only used in writing: *''Hom no es fa monja perquè sí'' ("One does not become a nun because of nothing.")


Weak pronouns

The weak pronouns () are
proform In linguistics, a pro-form is a type of function word or expression that stands in for (expresses the same content as) another word, phrase, clause or sentence where the meaning is recoverable from the context. They are used either to avoid rep ...
s that, as the name indicates, do not carry
stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...
. All are monosyllabic clitics, and all must always appear immediately before or after a
verb A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descr ...
: they cannot be used on their own or attached to a different element of the sentence. The combination of the verb plus the weak pronoun or pronouns always has a single stressed vowel, that of the verb.


Forms

Weak pronouns in Catalan vary according to: #the
person A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
,
number A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers c ...
, and
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...
of the antecedent #its syntactic function (direct or indirect object or
adverb An adverb is a word or an expression that generally modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering ...
ial complement). The form of a given pronoun is determined by its position with respect to the
verb A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descr ...
, and whether it is adjacent to a
vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...
or a
consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wi ...
in the verb. There are four possible configurations: *reinforced form (''forma reforçada''): used before a verb that begins with a consonant, separated from the verb by a space :''Em veieu.'' ("You see me.") *elided form (''forma elidida''): used before a verb that begins with a vowel (or ''h-''), and separated from it by an apostrophe :''Això m'agrada'' ("I like that."; lit. "That pleases me") *full form (''forma plena''): used after a verb that ends in a consonant (or a diphthong ending in ''-u''), connected to the verb with a hyphen :''En Joan no vol seguir-me.'' ("John doesn't want to follow me.") *reduced form (''forma reduïda''): used after a verb that ends in a vowel, separated from it by an apostrophe (except in the case of ''-us'') :''Dóna'm un llibre.'' ("Give me a book.") Not all pronouns have four distinct forms. The following table shows the complete inventory.


Uses

The weak pronouns primarily express
complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...
s of the verb. *Direct objects : ''Ahir el vaig veure.'' ("Yesterday I saw him.") : ''Ahir la vaig veure.'' ("Yesterday I saw her.") *Indirect objects : ''Li donaràs el llibre?'' ("Will you give him/her the book?") *Reflexive pronouns :Reflexive – ''La nena es renta.'' ("The girl is washing herself.") :Pronominal – ''Tots es van penedir d'això.'' ("Everyone was sorry about that.") *The neuter proform ''ho'' replaces pronouns such as ''açò'' ("this"), ''això'', ''allò'' ("that"), or ''tot'' ("everything"), or even an entire clause. : ''No ho sé.'' ("I don't know he thing you just asked about") : -''T'agrada mirar la televisió?'' -''No, ho trobo avorrit.'' ("Do you like to watch TV?" "No, I think it's boring.") : ''Cal netejar-ho tot.'' ("We have to clean it all up.") *The proform ''hi'' replaces adverbial complements such as: :Locative expressions: ''Sempre he tingut ganes d'anar-hi.'' ("I've always wanted to go
here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...
") :Prepositional phrases denoting manner or instrument, or starting with the prepositions ''a'', ''amb'', ''en'', ''per'', etc.: ''Hi estic d'acord.'' ("I agree ith that, with you, etc)." :Adverbs and adjectives used with verbs other than ''ser'', ''ésser'', ''estar'', ''semblar'', ''esdevenir'': -''Que t'has llevat alegre?'' -''Sí, m'hi he llevat.'' (-"Did you get up in a good mood?" -"Yes, I did.") :Intransitive verbs of perception: ''L'home no hi sent.'' ("The man can't hear.") *The adverbial proform ''en'' replaces :Prepositional phrases starting with ''de'': ''Tothom en parla.'' ("Everyone is talking about it."); ''En vinc.'' ("I'm from there.") :Unmodified nouns or nouns preceded by numbers, quantifying adverbs or an indefinite article: ''Quantes cases teniu?'' — ''En tenim dues/moltes.'' ("How many houses do you have?" — "We have two/many f them"); ''Tens adreça de correu electrònic?'' — ''Sí, en tinc.'' ("Have you got an email address?" — "Yes, I do.")


Position

The weak pronouns are either proclitic (appearing immediately before the verb) or enclitic (immediately after). Enclitic pronouns are used with infinitives, gerunds, and positive imperatives. *''Pots fer-nos mandonguilles?'' ("Can you make us meatballs?") *''Veient-ho des de fora, analitzant-ho objectivament'' ("Seeing it from an outsider's point of view, analyzing it objectively") *''Vés-hi i espera'm.'' ("Go there and wait for me.") With all other forms of the verb, the weak pronouns are proclitic. This includes, in particular, conjugated (
finite Finite is the opposite of infinite. It may refer to: * Finite number (disambiguation) * Finite set, a set whose cardinality (number of elements) is some natural number * Finite verb, a verb form that has a subject, usually being inflected or marke ...
) verbs and negative imperatives: *''Ens faràs encara mandonguilles?'' ("Will you make us meatballs again?") *''No m'esperis.'' ("Don't wait for me.") In complex verbal constructions consisting of a conjugated verb and an infinitive or gerund, the pronoun can appear either before the first verb or after the second verb. * ''Els volien atacar.'' or ''Volien atacar-los.'' ("They wanted to attack them.") * ''L'estem escoltant.'' or ''Estem escoltant-lo.'' ("We are listening to him.")


Dialectal variation

Use of weak pronouns varies significantly across the Catalan linguistic area. Northern Catalan (particularly as spoken in Northern Catalonia) and the
Balearic dialect Balearic ( ca, balear) is the collective name for the dialects of Catalan spoken in the Balearic Islands: in Mallorca, in Ibiza and in Menorca. At the last census, 746,792 people in the Balearic Islands claimed to be able to speak Catalan, th ...
do not generally use the reinforced forms (e.g. ''te veig'' instead of ''et veig''). In the
imperative mood The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request. The imperative mood is used to demand or require that an action be performed. It is usually found only in the present tense, second person. To form the imperative mood, ...
in Northern Catalan, the reduced form of the pronoun is replaced by a ''tonic'' form (thus, not strictly being a ''weak'' pronoun anymore). For example, ''mira'm!'' (en: ''look at me!'') in Northern Catalan is rendered as ''mira-mé!''.


Combinations of weak pronouns

When two weak pronouns appear with the same verb, they must appear in a fixed order, as illustrated in the following table: The two pronouns must be selected from different columns, and furthermore ''ho'' cannot combine with ''en'' or ''hi''. All of the combinations allowed in the standard language are given in the following table, which also shows the necessary morpho-phonological and orthographic adjustments. In each cell of the table, the forms are listed in the following order, with the same contextual conditions as explained above for the simple pronouns: #proclitic form used before a verb that begins with a vowel #proclitic form used before a verb that begins with a consonant #enclitic form used ''after a verb that ends with a vowel (except "u")'' #enclitic form used ''after a verb that ends with a consonant (or "u")'' In combinations like ''es'' + ''en'', the resulting form, pronounced , could be analyzed either as ''s''' + ''en'' or as ''se'' + '''n''. The orthographic convention in such cases is to place the apostrophe as far to the right as possible: ''se'n'', and not ''s'en'', and similarly for ''se'ls'', ''me'n'', ''te'm'', ''te'ns'', etc. The combination of ''el''/''la'' with ''en'', however, is written ''l'en'', because there is no such pronoun as ''le'' that would justify the spelling ''le'n''.


Impossible combinations

As mentioned above, the combinations ''ho'' + ''hi'' and ''ho'' + ''en'' are not allowed in the standard language, and must be avoided, for example by keeping only ''ho'' and leaving the other pronoun unexpressed. In some contexts, it is also acceptable to replace ''ho'' with ''el'', giving rise to the following combinations: *''ho'' + ''hi'' → ''el'' + ''hi'' → ''l'hi'' :''(Això, a Sabadell) l'hi portaré demà.'' ("I will take it there tomorrow") *''ho'' + ''en'' → ''el'' + ''en'' → ''l'en'' In the second case, it is also possible to replace the pronoun ''en'' with ''hi'': *''ho'' + ''en'' → ''el'' + ''hi'' → ''l'hi'' :''(Això, de l'armari) l'en/l'hi trauré després.'' ("I will take it out of there afterwards") This substitution of ''hi'' for ''en'' is also used to express the combination of ''en'' (ablative) + ''en'' (genitive), since the form *''ne'n'' is not allowed: *''en'' + ''en'' → ''en'' + ''hi'' → ''n'hi'' :''(D'homes, del teatre) n'hi sortiran tres.'' ("Three of them will come out of there")


Longer combinations

Sequences of three pronouns are possible, and generally consist of one of the two-pronoun combinations from the table above, preceded by ''em'', ''et'', ''ens'', ''us'', and most commonly ''es'' (the added pronoun must not already appear in the original two-pronoun cluster).Pellicer & Ferran (1998, p. 160–61) *''Us posen vi als gots'' (They put wine in the glasses for you) → ''Us n'hi posen'' (They put some there for you) *''Se t'ofereix cervesa'' (You are offered beer) → ''Se te n'ofereix'' (You are offered some) Combinations of four pronouns are very rare: *''Se'm posa pols a les sabates'' (Dust gets into my shoes) → ''Se me n'hi posa'' (Some of it he sandgets into them he shoes The linguist Joan Solà presents a progression that culminates in a combination of six weak pronouns: *''Aquell amic nostre (→ te me) és capaç de posar-se a casa (→ hi) tres parents (→ ’n) del senyor Pere (→ li)'' (That friend of ours is able to give lodging in his house to three relatives of Senyor Pere) → ''Se te me li n’hi posarà tres


Variants

Combinations of weak pronouns are subject to wide regional and stylistic variation, and in several cases the normative rules presented above do not reflect actual usage. For example, alongside the transparently derived forms of ''li'' + direct object pronoun (''el'', ''la'', ''els'', ''les'') given in the table above, central Catalan varieties replace ''li'' with ''hi'': *''li'' + ''el'' → ''el'' + ''hi'' → ''l'hi'' (instead of ''li'l'') *''li'' + ''la'' → ''la'' + ''hi'' → ''la hi'' (instead of ''li la'') *''li'' + ''els'' → ''els'' + ''hi'' → ''els hi'' (instead of ''li'ls'') *''li'' + ''les'' → ''les'' + ''hi'' → ''les hi'' (instead of ''li les'') Furthermore, the feminine forms can merge phonetically with the masculine forms, i.e. ''la hi'' is pronounced like ''l'hi'' and ''les hi'' like ''els hi''. Combinations of ''li'' with ''en'' and ''ho'' can also undergo modification: *''li'' + ''en'' → ''en'' + ''hi'' → ''n'hi'' (instead of ''li'n'') *''li'' + ''ho'' → ''el'' + ''hi'' → ''l'hi'' (instead of ''li ho'') In more colloquial registers, the plural indirect object pronoun ''els'' is realized as ''els hi'', and this extended form is used instead of all combinations of ''els'' followed by a 3rd person direct object pronoun: *''els'' + ''el''/''la''/''els''/''les''/''ho'' → ''els hi'' The elided proclitic forms ''ens n''' and ''us n''' are regularly replaced by the unelided forms ''ens en'' and ''us en'' before a verb starting with a vowel. For example: *''Ens en anem'', instead of ''Ens n'anem'' *''Us en alegreu'', instead of ''Us n'alegreu''


See also

*
Pro-drop language A pro-drop language (from "pronoun-dropping") is a language where certain classes of pronouns may be omitted when they can be pragmatically or grammatically inferable. The precise conditions vary from language to language, and can be quite int ...
* Prepositional pronoun * Clitic doubling


Footnotes


References

* * *


External links


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