Parliamo Scots
Personal Pronouns

Parliamo Scots                                                                Soutar Davie

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

The First Person singular nominative is often written as Ah, and the spellings, A, and ah are also used.  The English spelling I, is sometimes used, but Ah gives a more accurate representation of the pronunciation in Scots.  In verse, the spelling, A, is liable to be confused with the article, A, at the beginning of  a line.

Ah didna richt ken whit Ah wes thinkin about!

FIRST PERSON

Nominative                   Ah                    we/oo*
Objective                     me/iz                we/oo*
Possessive                    mynes              oors

*oo is used in south Scotland, where it can be used  either as a subject or an object.

Ah wad lyke for ye ti gie iz a kiss.

We/Oo wad lyke for ye ti cum alang wi oo.

Yon book is mynes.

Ah dout this taibil claith is no oors at aw.

SECOND PERSON

Formerly, the singular of the Second Person Pronoun (thou) was a familiar form used for addressing friends or children, but its use is now literary, except in Shetland.  What used to be the plural form is now generally used.

Nominative                   thou                 ye/ee/you
Objective                     thee                 ye/ee/you
Possessive                    thyne               yours

A distinction is sometimes made between  nominative, ye, and objective, you, and you is now often used as a stressed form.

Compare:                     Whit ails ye?
                                   Whit the michief ails you?

THIRD PERSON

Nominative                   he, she, it        thay
Objective                     him, hir, it        thaim
Possessive                  his, hirs, its      thairs

The form, hit, can be used for it, to confer emphasis.

“Is yon the zoo ower yonder?”  “Ay, thon’s hit!”

In the game of  “hide and go seek,”  the term, hit, singles out the player who hunts for the others.

We’l play at hyde an gae seek an ye’l be hit!

The objective case of pronouns is always used after the verb, ti be, as in, It is me! It’s hir! It wes thaim! etc.

When there is more than one subject pronoun, or when a pronoun or noun subject go together,  the objective forms, me, hir, him, etc., are used nominatively.

Him an me wul tak a bit dauner doun til the wattir.

Hir an hir faither wul be ower this eftirnuin.

Hir an me nevir gat on that weill.

This practice has been found in Argyll Scots:

Me an Shon wass haein a tram thegither in the Croun Hotel.

When pronouns are objective, the direct object follows the indirect as a rule, and this is the case also, when one of  the objects is a noun.

Thraw me it!                            Gie me it!
Thraw me the baw!                 Gie the bairn it!

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