Pronouns
The following forms of pronouns are used in Sesotho: (1) the subject concord use pronominally; (2) absolute pronouns; (3) demonstrative pronouns; (4) qualificative pronouns; and (5) quantitative pronouns.
Subject concord used pronominally
The subject concord can be used to represent a subject. For example instead of writing "Dinotshi di a sebetsa." (The bees are working.) one can write "Di a sebetsa." (They are working.)
The relevant concord for the subject (noun) can then be chosen (SEE: Nouns & noun classes)
Class | 1 | 2 | 1a | 2a | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 15 |
Subject concord | o | ba | o | ba | o | e | le | a | se | di | e | di | bo | ho |
Note that the subject concord does
not represent gender and that "o" can mean "he" or
"she".
This kind of meaning is usually derived from the context in which an utterance
or text appears.
Examples:
Bana ba tsamaya sekolong. (The children walk to school.) > Ba tsamaya
sekolong (They walk to school.)
Ausi o thusa mme. (Older sister helps mother.) > O thusa mme. (She helps
mother.)
Motswalle o palama baesekele. (Friend rides a bicycle.) > O palama baesekele.
(He rides a bicycle.)
Katse e nwa lebese. (The cat drinks milk.) > E nwa lebese. (It drinks milk.)
Absolute pronouns
This kind of pronoun is used to indicate a noun.
Singular | Translation | Plural | Translation | |
First person | nna | I | rona | we |
Second person | wena | you | lona | you |
Third person | yena | he/she | bona | they |
According to noun class they are:
Class | 1 | 2 | 1a | 2a | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 15 |
Subject concord | o | ba | o | ba | o | e | le | a | se | di | e | di | bo | ho |
Absolute pronoun | yena | bona | yena | bona | wona | yona | lona | ona | sona | tsona | yona | tsona | bona | hona |
Translation | he/she | they | he/she | they | it | they | it | they | it | they | it | they | it | it |
Example:
Ke bona dikoloi. (I see the cars.) > Ke bona tsona. (I see them.)
Demonstrative pronouns
With the use of demonstrative pronouns the position of something in relation to a speaker (or writer) can be indicated. There are three positions (with two forms) usually translated as "here", "there" and "yonder". These pronouns are also determined by the noun class.
Class | Subject concord |
Here | There | Yonder | |||
1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||
1 | o | enwa | eo | eno | eo | yane | elwa |
2 | ba | bana | baa | bano | bao | bane | bale |
1a | o | enwa | eo | eno | eo | yane | elwa |
2a | ba | bana | baa | bano | bao | bane | bale |
3 | o | ona | oo | ono | oo | wane | ola |
4 | e | ena | ee | eno | eo | yane | ela |
5 | le | lena | lee | leno | leo | lane | lela |
6 | a | ana | aa | ano | ao | ane | ale |
7 | se | sena | see | seno | seo | sane | sela |
8 | di | tsena | tsee | tseno | tseo | tsane | tsela |
9 | e | ena | ee | eno | eo | yane | ela |
10 | di | tsena | tsee | tseno | tseo | tsane | tsela |
14 | bo | bona | boo | bono | boo | bane | bola |
15 | ho | hona | hoo | hono | hoo | hane | hola |
Examples:
O bona monna enwa. (She sees this man.)
Ke batla bohobe bono. (I want that bread.)
Ngwanana o bala buka yane. (The girl reads that book.)
Qualificative pronouns
The qualificative pronoun qualifies a particular noun. Here adjectival concord; possessive concord and enumerative concord can be noted.
To indicate possession the possessive concord should be used. This is again determined by the noun class.
Class | Subject concord |
Possessive concord |
1 | o | wa |
2 | ba | ba |
1a | o | wa |
2a | ba | ba |
3 | o | wa |
4 | e | ya |
5 | le | la |
6 | a | a |
7 | se | sa |
8 | di | tsa |
9 | e | ya |
10 | di | tsa |
14 | bo | ba |
15 | ho | ha |
This possessive concord joins two nouns or pronouns to indicate possession.
Examples:
Banna ba ka. (My children.)
Batswadi ba rona. (Our parents.)
Dijo tsa hao. (Your food. / your - singular)
Pina ya lona. (Your song. / your - plural)
Letsoho la hae. (His/her hand.)
Aubuti o batla ho kganna koloi ya ka. (Older brother wants to drive my car.)
The enumerative concord refers to the use of numbers in relation to nouns. Note that for most classes (except for 8, 9 and 10) the class prefix is added to the number.
Examples:
motho ya mong (one person)
katse e le nngwe (one cat)
batho ba bararo (three people)
dintja tse hlano (five dogs)
koloi ya pele (first car)
baesekele ya bobedi (second car) [bo- prefix indicates a sequence.]
Quantitative pronouns
This kind of pronoun is used to indicate a quantity of a noun. The stem -hle is used with prefixes determined from the class prefixes to create the word "all".
Class | Subject concord |
Quantitative pronoun |
1 | o | wohle |
2 | ba | bohle |
1a | o | wohle |
2a | ba | bohle |
3 | o | wohle |
4 | e | yohle |
5 | le | lohle |
6 | a | ohle |
7 | se | sohle |
8 | di | tsohle |
9 | e | yohle |
10 | di | tsohle |
14 | bo | bohle |
15 | ho | hohle |
Examples:
bana bohle (all the children)
dikgoho tsohle (all the chickens)
mosadi wohle (the whole woman)
Morekisi o rekisa dieta tsohle. (The salesperson sells all the shoes.)
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© J. Olivier
(2009)