6. Pronouns and “to be”
🟢 سەرەتایی · وانەی ٦ لە ٢٣
ئەم پەڕەیە ئێستا بە ئینگلیزییە.
Personal pronouns
| person | pronoun | Latin | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | من | min | I, me |
| 2sg | تۆ | to | you (one person) |
| 3sg | ئەو | ew | he, she, it; that |
| 1pl | ئێمە | ême | we, us |
| 2pl | ئێوە | êwe | you (several people, or polite) |
| 3pl | ئەوان | ewan | they, them |
There is no gender: ئەو means he, she and it. The same pronouns are used for subjects and objects (من I and me).
“To be”: the copula endings
English am / are / is is not a separate word in Sorani. It is a small ending attached to the word that says what someone is, like a short form of I’m:
| person | after a consonant | after a vowel |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | -م -im | -م -m |
| 2sg | -یت -ît | -یت -yt |
| 3sg | -ە -e | -یە -ye |
| 1pl | -ین -în | -ین -yn |
| 2pl | -ن -in | -ن -n |
| 3pl | -ن -in | -ن -n |
With کورد Kurd (consonant-final) and مامۆستا teacher (vowel-final):
| # | Kurdish | Latin | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | من کوردم. | min kurdim. | /m(ɯ)n kuɾd(ɯ)m/ | I am Kurdish. |
| 2 | تۆ کوردیت. | to kurdît. | /toː kuɾdiːt/ | You are Kurdish. |
| 3 | ئەو کوردە. | ew kurde. | /ʔæw kuɾdæ/ | He / She is Kurdish. |
| 4 | ئێمە کوردین. | ême kurdîn. | /ʔeːmæ kuɾdiːn/ | We are Kurdish. |
| 5 | ئێوە کوردن. | êwe kurdin. | /ʔeːwæ kuɾd(ɯ)n/ | You (pl) are Kurdish. |
| 6 | ئەوان کوردن. | ewan kurdin. | /ʔæwaːn kuɾd(ɯ)n/ | They are Kurdish. |
| 7 | من مامۆستام. | min mamostam. | /m(ɯ)n maːmoːstaːm/ | I am a teacher. |
| 8 | ئەو مامۆستایە. | ew mamostaye. | /ʔæw maːmoːstaːjæ/ | He / She is a teacher. |
Because the ending shows the person, the pronoun can be dropped: کوردم alone means I am Kurdish.
“Is not”: نیم، نیت، نییە…
The negative copula is a separate word placed after the noun or adjective:
| person | form | example |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | نیم | من مامۆستا نیم. I am not a teacher. |
| 2sg | نیت | تۆ ماندوو نیت. You are not tired. |
| 3sg | نییە | ئەو لێرە نییە. He is not here. |
| 1pl | نین | ئێمە کورد نین. We are not Kurds. |
| 2pl / 3pl | نین | ئەوان لێرە نین. They are not here. |
“There is”: هەیە / نییە
هەیە means there is / exists; its negative is نییە there isn’t. Combined with a personal clitic (lesson 11) it expresses to have:
| # | Kurdish | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ئاو هەیە. | aw heye. | There is water. |
| 2 | نان نییە. | nan nîye. | There is no bread. |
| 3 | کتێبێکم هەیە. | kitêbêkim heye. | I have a book. (lit. a-book-my exists) |
| 4 | ئۆتۆمبێلت هەیە؟ | otombêlt heye? | Do you have a car? |
Questions
A yes/no question is a statement said with rising intonation and written with ؟: ئەو مامۆستایە؟ Is he a teacher? You can also start it with ئایا (formal): ئایا ئەو مامۆستایە؟
Practice
Make sentences with the copula:
- I am a student (قوتابی student).
- We are teachers.
- She is not here (لێرە here).
Answers
- من قوتابیم. (قوتابی ends in a vowel → -م)
- ئێمە مامۆستاین.
- ئەو لێرە نییە.
Summary
- Six pronouns, no gender: من تۆ ئەو ئێمە ئێوە ئەوان.
- To be is an ending: -م -یت -ە/-یە -ین -ن -ن.
- Not to be: نیم نیت نییە نین; there is: هەیە.