Russian/Grammar/Pronouns
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[edit] Personal Pronouns
Use nominative case pronouns for the subject of the sentence.
| English | Nominative | Prepositional | Genitive |
| who | кто ("kto") | у кого ("oo kovo") | |
| I | Я ("yah") | oбо мне ("obo mnyeh") | у меня ("oo myehnyah") |
| you (informal) | ты ("tee") | о тебе ("o tyehbyeh") | у тебя ("oo tyehbyah") |
| he | он ("on") | о нём ("o nyom") | у него ("oo nyeh-vo") |
| she | она ("ona") | о ней ("o nyay") | у неё ("oo nyeh-yo") |
| we | мы ("mee") | о нас ("o nas") | у нас ("oo nas") |
| you (formal and plural) | вы ("vee") | о вас ("o vas") | у вас ("oo vas") |
| they | они ("onee") | о них ("o neekh") | у них ("oo neekh") |
[edit] Formal and Informal
Russians differentiate between formal and informal social relationships. Two words translate to "you": Вы (pronounced "vee" but make it short, don't draw out the vowel) is how you say "you" to a teacher, police officer, etc. Ты (pronounced "tee") is how you say "you" to a friend or family member. Russians are more formal than Americans, so if in doubt use Вы!
Вы is also "you plural" or "y'all. In other words, you address a superior person as if he or she were several people.
The greeting здравствуйте (formal) and здравствуй (informal) has two forms.
The word "your" also comes in formal and informal: вас (formal) and тебя (informal). Not a book title page. Please remove {{alphabetical}} from this page.
