Middle Egyptian distinguishes between three types of personal pronouns that are different in form, syntaxis and use. When translated into English, the meaning of these three types of personal pronouns can sometimes overlap. The three types of personal pronouns are:

1. Independent pronouns
2. Dependent pronouns
3. Suffix pronouns

Independent pronouns

Form

Hieroglyphic Transcription Translation 1st pers. sing. ink I, mine 2nd pers. masc. sing. ntk you, yours 2nd pers. fem. sing. ntT you, yours 3rd pers. masc. sing. ntf he, his 3rd pers. fem. sing. nts she, hers 1st pers. plur. inn we, ours 2nd pers. plur. ntTn you, yours 3rd pers. plur. ntsn they, theirs

Note that different spellings are possible and that only the most common spelling has been provided here. In plural, no distinction in gender is made: the same forms are used for masculin and feminin.

Syntaxis and use

The independent pronoun almost always stands at the beginning of a sentence and can often be given an emphatic meaning.

The main use of the independent pronoun is as the subject of a non-verbal sentence where it is immediately followed by the nominal predicate. A few examples will help clarify this:

ink HqA pwn.t, I (am the) ruler of Punt. In this sentence, ink is the subject and HqA pwn.t, itself a direct genitive between hqA and pwn.t, the predicate. There is no verb in this sentence. In English, we have to add the verb "to be" to the translation.

ntk nTr aA, you (are the) great god.

Dependent pronouns

Form

Hieroglyphic Transcription Translation 1st pers. sing. wi I, me 2nd pers. masc. sing. Tw you 2nd pers. fem. sing. Tn you 3rd pers. masc. sing. sw he, him 3rd pers. fem. sing. sj she, her 3rd pers. fem. sing s.t she, her 1st pers. plur. n we, us 2nd pers. plur. Tn you 3rd pers. plur. sn they, them 3rd pers. plur. s.t they, them

Note that different spellings are possible and that only the most common spelling has been provided here. In plural, no distinction in gender is made: the same forms are used for masculin and feminin.

Syntaxis and use

The dependent pronoun is a personal pronoun that depends on a preceding word or phrase. It can never start a sentence but it can be separated from the word it depends on.

The main uses of the dependent pronoun are:

1. As object in the verbal sentence, except when the verb is in the infinitive. In this case, the pronoun depends on the verb, which is at the start of the sentence. If the subject is a suffix pronoun which must always immediately follow the verb, the object comes after the subject.
   hAb=k wi, you send me.
   If, however, the subject of the verbal sentence is a noun or a nominal contruction, then the dependent pronoun comes immediately after the verb, separating it from the subject.
   hAb wi nsw, the king sends me.
2. As subject in the non-verbal sentence with an adverbial predicate. As the dependent pronoun needs to depend on a preceding word, it normally follows a particle.
   mk wi m HqA pwn.t, behold, I am the ruler of Punt (lit.: behold me as ruler of Punt).
   nn sj m ib=i, it is not in my heart.
3. As subject in the non-verbal sentence with an adjectival predicate. In this type of sentence, the pronoun depends on the preceding adjective, the predicate of the sentence.
   nfr sj r s.t nb.t, she is more beautiful than any woman (lit.: beautiful (is) she compared to any woman).

Suffix pronouns

Form

Hieroglyphic Transcription Translation 1st pers. sing. =i I, me, my 2nd pers. masc. sing. =k you, your 2nd pers. fem. sing. =T you, your 3rd pers. masc. sing. =f he, him, his 3rd pers. fem. sing. =s she, her 1st pers. plur. =n we, us, our 2nd pers. plur. =Tn you, your 3rd pers. plur. =sn they, them, their

Note that different spellings are possible and that only the most common spelling has been provided here. In plural, no distinction in gender is made: the same forms are used for masculin and feminin.

Syntaxis and use

The suffix pronoun is always attached to a previous word, be it a noun or a verbal form. It can never start a sentence. In transcription the suffix pronoun is separated from the preceding word by =. Note, however, that in several publications, you may find this sepator being a point rather than the = which is used here. This is merely a matter of convention.

The main uses of the suffix pronoun are:

1. As the subject of the verbal sentence, except when the verb is an infinitive:
   sDm=i xrw, I hear a voice. This type of verbal form is called sDm=f form and follows the paradigm verb + subject.
   rdi.n=f wi Hr tA, he placed me on the ground. This type of verbal form is called the sDm.n=f form and follows the paradigm verb + n + subject. In transcription, the n is separated from the preceding verb by a dot.
2. As the subject of the non verbal sentence with an adverbial predicate, but only when that sentence is started by the particle iw:
   iw=f m p.t, he is in the sky.
3. As indirect object of the verbal sentence:
   Dd=f n=i, he says to me.
4. To indicate the owner in a genitive construction. The gender of the suffix pronoun is that of the owner and not of the nound that precedes the suffix..
   pr=s, her house. Note that the gender of the word house is masculin.
   Any adjectives that are used to qualify the noun that is owned, must follow the suffix, as the suffix must always be attached immediately to the preceding word.
   Hm.t=f nfr.t, his beautifull wife (lit.: wife his beautiful).
5. The suffix pronoun is also used in combination with several preceding prepositions:
   iw=f Hna=i, he is with me.

- Personal Pronouns-