I will be brutally honest. The Sindarin pronouns are a sticky, horrid mess. Everyone you go to will have a different theory about how they are to be used and what they are. Even I change my mind about them continuously. This is what I use. To build this lesson, I used Thorsten's article, Helge Fauskanger's article, the etymologies, and my own theories.

[The red text shows reconstructed pronouns.]

Nominative Pronouns (pronouns acting as the subject of a sentence):

Examples:
I am cold. - Ni him.
We are trees. - Mín 'elaidh.
You are beloved in the great hall. - Le muin min thamas.
You are my friend. - Ce vellon nîn.
He or she is tall. - E tonn.
They are bold. - Ti cainn.
It is a leaf. - Sa lass.
They are clothing. - Sai chammad.
She is gracious. - Se fael.
They are fair maidens. - Si 'winn vain.
He is an animal. - So levan.
They are small men. - Sy vinn nibin.

Most of the time, there is no use for nominative pronouns in Sindarin. Instead, they are suffixed onto the ends of the verbs. We will get into verb conjugation in the next lesson. The only nominative pronoun used often with a verb is (e), because it denotes that a person, not a thing, is doing the action. Also, the gender neutral pronouns, (e) and (ti) are used more often than the third person gender specific pronouns.

Accusative Pronouns (pronouns acting as the object of the sentence). These are placed before the verb (except in orders, then they follow the verb.) and soft lenition applies.

Examples:
It overshadows me. - Nin gwathra.
It overshadows us. - Ven gwathra.
It overshadows you. - Le gwathra.
It overshadows you. - Gen gwathra.
It overshadows him or her. - Den gwathra.
It overshadows them. - Di gwathra.
It overshadows it. - Han gwathra.
It overshadows them. - Hain gwathra.
It overshadows her. - Hen gwathra.
It overshadows them. - Hin gwathra.
It overshadows him. - Hon gwathra.
It overshadows them. - Hyn gwathra.

Long Dative Pronouns (pronouns acting as the indirect object of the sentence) These are made by prefixing "to" (an) onto the dative pronouns. Nasal lenition is used.

*Because (le) doesn't change, it is treated as a direct object.

Examples:
He or she gives to me. - E anna enni.
He or she gives to us. - E anna ammen.
He or she gives to you. - E le anna.
He or she gives to you. - E anna achen.
It gives to him or her. - Anna athen.
He or she gives to them. - E anna athi.
He or she gives to it. - E anna assan.
He or she gives to them. - E anna assain.
He or she gives to her. - E anna assen.
He or she gives to them. - E anna assin.
He or she gives to him. - E anna asson.
He or she gives to them. - E anna assyn.

Reflexive Pronouns (Pronouns that act as the object of the sentence while referring to the subject of the sentence.) [Example: My watch winds itself.] The lenited nominative pronoun is placed before the verb, after nouns or phrases in the subject of the sentence, and before other dative pronouns.

When telling ones name, a reflexive pronoun is always used.

Examples:
I am Barawen. - Im Barawen.
We are Barawen and Thalawest. - Im Barawen a Thalawest.
You are Thalawest. - Le Thalawest.
You are Barawen. - Ce Barawen.
He or she is Thalawest. - In Thalawest.
They are Thalawest and Barawen. - In Thalawest a Barawen.
I overshadow myself. - Im gwathron.
We overshadow ourselves. - Im gwathram.
You overshadow yourself. - Le gwathral.
You overshadow yourself. - Ge gwathrach.
It overshadows itself. - In gwathra.
They overshadow themselves. - In gwathrar.

Long Reflexive Pronouns (pronouns acting as indirect objects that refer to the subject) [example: I kept none for myself.] These are made by prefixing "to" (an) onto the nominative pronoun. Nasal lenition applies.

* Because (le) doesn't change, it is treated as a direct object.

Examples:
I talk to myself. - Pedin anim.
We talk to ourselves. - Pedim anim.
You talk to yourself. - Le pedil.
You talk to yourself. - Pedich ache.
It talks to itself. - Pêd enin.
They talk to themselves. - Pedir enin.

Possessive Pronouns. They are treated as adjectives, so soft lenition always applies to them.

Examples:
My house - Bar nîn
Our house - Bar vîn
Your house - Bar lîn
Your house - Bar gîn
Its house - Bar dîn
Their house - Bar dîn
I give my own house to her. - Annon mar în assen.
We give our own house to her. - Annam mar în assen.
You give your own house to her. - Annal mar în assen.
You give your own house to her. - Annach mar în assen.
It gives its own house to her. - Anna mar în assen.
They give their own house to her. - Annar mar în assen.

Odds and Ends of the Pronouns

Example:
That is a dog. - Ta chû.
I hold this. - Hen gerin.
He walked to those. -Padant assin.

When these are used to describe nouns instead of replace them, the pronoun is treated like an adjective. The accusative form is used.
Example: Those men speak to me. - Binn dain pedir enni.

Pronoun Syntax in Sentences

In a statement: [nominative] [accusative] [verb] [dative].
Examples:
He killed himself for her. - E in danc athe.
I sang it to you. - Han le linnen.

In imperative sentences (commands): [verb] [accusative] [dative]!
Examples:
Watch me! - Tíro nin!
Let's greet them! - Suilam di!
Give it to me! - Anno han enni!

The pronoun for "one/person/somebody/someone" is (pen). Use normal lenition rules for it; treat it like a normal noun.
Example: I see someone. - Cenin ben.

The pronoun for "something" is (nad). Treat it as a normal noun.
Example: Eat something or die! - Mado nad egor gwanno!

The pronoun for "someplace/somewhere" is (sad). Treat it as a normal noun.
Example: I will go to somewhere warm. - Telithon as sad laug.

Don't confuse the demonstrative pronoun "that" with the "that/who" for beginning subordinate clauses.

Homework

Symbols that you may need:
áéíóúý
ÁÉÍÓÚÝ
âêîôûŷ
ÂÊÎÔÛŶ

Wordbank

Verbs:
Iuitha- use, employ

Nouns:
Talagan-harper
Cardh-deed, feat
Car-house

Adjectives:
Idhren- thoughtful

Translate the sentences into Sindarin. Don't translate the bits in parentheses; they're only to help the translation.

I am Tríwath. - Im Tríwath.
These harpers use that for us. - Telegain hin dan iuithar ammen.
He or she is a thoughtful person. - E ben idhren.
(informal) The harper employs you in his [the harper's] house. - I dalagan gen iuitha mi gar în.

Translate the following into English.

Trenerin gardh gîn anim. - (informal) I recount your feat for myself.
Iuitho han! - Use it!
Im le iuitham. - (formal) We employ ourselves for you.