English And Spanish

School of Languages, Linguistics and Film

HSP502 The Grammatical Structures of English and Spanish 2 Personal pronouns 1

Personal pronouns 1 Definition and general properties A PRONOUN [PRONOMBRE] is traditionally so called because it is a part of speech which is COREFERENTIAL [COREFERENCIAL] with a noun and used in its place: (1) Johni asked his motherj for some moneyk and shej gave itk tohimi Juani le pidió dinerok a su madrej y ellaj sei lok dio

However, some words which are usually classified as pronouns do not exactly meet this criterion. FIRST and SECOND PERSON PRONOUNS [PRONOMBRES DE PRIMERA y SEGUNDA PERSONA] (I, you, we / yo, tú, usted, nosotros~as, vosotros~as, ustedes) do not usually substitute full nouns. English it may refer to a SENTENCE or CLAUSE [FRASE u ORACIÓN](2a-b). Spanish ‘neuter’ ello never refers to a noun but to a sentence or clause (2a). Spanish lo can refer to a sentence or clause (2b-c); lo can refer to an adjective with COPULAR VERBS [VERBOS COPULATIVOS] such as ser, estar and resultar (2d): (2) a. b. c. d. [They’re letting us down]i, and iti grieves me Although it doesn’t seem like iti, [Arabs and western Europeans live on the sameplanet]i. {‘My grandmother is ill.’ ‘Yes, I know’} {Julia is clever. So is Teresa.} [Me decepcionan]i, y elloi me duele Aunque a veces no loi parezca, [árabes y europeos occidentales vivimos en un mismo planeta]i. —[Mi abuela está enferma.]i —Sí, ya loi sé. Julia es listai. También loi es Teresa.

Ø English does not use a pronoun in the equivalents of (2c) and (2d); but it uses so with a number of verbsdenoting mental processes and opinions (Carter & McCarthy 2006: §437) (3) 2 Forms The personal pronouns can be classified formally according to PERSON [PERSONA], NUMBER [NÚMERO] and CASE [CASO]. In Spanish the parameter of formality also needs to be included for the second person. English subject I he she we they oblique me you him her it us them ‘[She’s ill.]’ ‘Yes, I thought so.’ —[Estáenferma.] —Sí, eso lo creía.

1sg 2 3sg masc 3sg fem 3sg neut 1pl 3pl

Chris Pountain

Last printed 04/10/12

School of Languages, Linguistics and Film

HSP502 The Grammatical Structures of English and Spanish 2 Personal pronouns 2

Ø Older English (and some modern varieties) have a 2sg form thou/thee. How does modern English manage without the distinctions of number, gender and formalitythat we find in the Spanish second person? Ø Some varieties of English distinguish 2sg and 2pl (e.g. you/y’all) Ø The choice between subject and oblique is dependent on particular contexts and varies a good deal with register in modern English: (4) a. b. c. d. Spanish subject 1sg 2sg fam 2sg pol masc 2sg pol fem 3sg masc 3sg fem 1pl masc 1pl fem 2pl masc fam 2pl fem fam 2pl pol masc 2pl pol fem 3plmasc 3pl fem yo tú prepositional object mí ti usted él ella nosotros nosotras vosotros vosotras ustedes ellos ellas direct object indirect object me te le My friend and I are going to Manchester ~ LMe and my friend are going to Manchester (colloquial) It was he who did it (strictly regarded as ‘correct’, but now rather archaic) ~ (L)It was him that did it This doesn’t affect people like you and I(increasingly regarded as standard, though compare This doesn’t affect people like me~*I) ~ This doesn’t affect people like you and me I have more money than he does / him~*he

lo~le la~le lo~le la~le

nos os los~les las~les los~les las~les les

For Spanish a distinction of TONICITY [TONICIDAD] is often recognised: the direct and indirect object forms are UNSTRESSED [ÁTONO] while the otherforms can be STRESSED [TÓNICO]. The unstressed pronouns are also often referred to as CLITICS [CLÍTICO] because they can only be used with a verb to which they ‘attach’ (the stressed pronouns are also referred to as DISJUNCTIVE [DISYUNTIVO]. Ø There is great variation in Peninsular Spanish in the usage of the 3sg/pl and 2sg/pl pol direct and indirect object forms. Ø The subject form is used in...