In Russian, personal pronouns are words like “it” or “you” or “they” that are used to replace a nounNo definition set for nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in a sentence. The Russian personal pronouns are:
As in English, the Russian personal pronoun you use will depend on the personNo definition set for personLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., numberNo definition set for numberLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., and genderNo definition set for genderLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of the noun you’re replacing. However, Russian personal pronouns also come in different cases, meaning they change their form depending on how they function in the sentence.
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In this post, we’ll take you through the rules about when to use each pronoun in Russian and go over the rules for how to put them in different forms. Ready to have a look? Let’s do it!
What are the Russian personal pronouns?
There are eight personal pronouns in Russian and there are three persons in Russian: first (to talk about the speaker), second (to talk about the person being addressed), and third (to talk about someone else).
| я[ya] | | |
| | |
он[on] | | |
она[aNA] | |
оно[aNO] | |
| мы[my] | | |
вы[vy] | | |
они[aNEE] | | |
Like in English, Russian personal pronouns are used to replace a nounNo definition set for nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or noun phraseNo definition set for noun phraseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., in order to avoid repetition. For example:
Мите 10 лет. Он уже большой парень!
MEEtye DYEsyat lyet. On ooZHE balSHOY PAryen!
Mitya is 10 years old. He is already a big guy!
Где дети? - Они завтракают.
gdye DYEti? - aNEE ZAFtrakayut.
Where are the children? - They are having breakfast.
When to use ты vs. вы?
The Russian pronouns ты[ty] and вы[vy] are both translated using the English pronoun as “you.” So what is the difference?
We use the pronoun вы[vy] in two cases:
to address a group of people (plural “you”)
in formal settings, to address one or more people (formal “you”)
The pronoun ты[ty] is used only to address one person you know really well. Someone like a friend, close relative, or a child.
Compare the use of the informal and formal “you”:
Доченька, ты знаешь этого человека?
DOchinka, ty ZNAish Etava chilaVYEka?
Baby daughter, do you know this person?
Господин Смирнов, вы знаете этого человека?
gaspaDEEN smirNOF vy ZNAiti Etava chilaVYEka?
Mr. Smirnov, do you know this person?
⤷TIPIn official letters and emails, the pronoun вы[vy] is usually capitalized if you are addressing one person formally, even in the middle of the sentence. This indicates respect.
The pronouns of the second person ты[ty] and вы[vy] can denote both a specific person and an unknown person. For example:
Ты идёшь с нами в парк? Ty iDYOSH s NAmi v park? Are you coming to the park with us? Вы хотите посмотреть фильм? Vy khaTEEti pasmatRYET film? Do you want to watch a movie? | Идёшь ты по городу, а тут такое! iDYOSH ty pa GOradoo a toot taLOye! You are walking around the city, and here it is! Много ли вы знаете о радиации? MNOga li vy ZNAiti a radiAtsii? How much do you know about radiation? |
When to use он vs. она vs. оно in Russian?
Only third person personal pronouns in the singular form have a category of gender:
Masculine | он[on] |
|---|
Feminine | она[aNA] |
|---|
Neuter | оно[aNO] |
|---|
It’s important to remember that, unlike in English, inanimate objects have a gender in Russian, so if you want to use a pronoun instead of a noun, you need to determine the gender of the noun first. For example:
дом[dom](house) | | он[on](he) |
мама[MAma](mom) | | она[aNA](she) |
машина[maSHYna](car) | | она[aNA](she) |
президент[priziDYENT](president) | | он/она[on/aNA](he/she) |
яблоко[YABlaka](apple) | | оно[aNO](it) |
время[VRYEmya](time) | | оно[aNO](it) |
The plural for all genders is они[aNEE](they).
президенты, дома, мамы, машины, яблоки → они
priziDYENty, daMA, MAmy, maSHYny, YABlaki → aNEE
presidents, houses, mothers, apples → they
Usually the pronoun оно[aNO] replaces inanimateNo definition set for inanimateLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. nouns. However, there is a small list of neuter animate nouns in Russian that can be replaced by the pronoun оно[aNO]:
животное[zhyVOTnaye](an animal)
чадо[CHAda](a child) → old-fashioned
насекомое[nasiKOmaye](an insect)
чудовище[chooDOvishchye](a monster)
For example:
Не трогай больное животное, оно может быть опасно!
ni TROgay balNOye zhyVOTnaye, aNO MOzhyt byt aPASnym!
Do not touch a sick animal, it can be dangerous!
Other tips for choosing the right Russian pronoun
There are a few more tips for choosing the right Russian personal pronoun, such as…
In Russian we usually say мы с вами[my s VAmi](we with you) or мы с другом[my s DROOgam](we with a friend), instead of saying “you and I” or “my friend and I.”
This happens to all pronouns or nouns in the phrase “someone and I.” For example:
Мы с семьёй любим отдыхать на море.
my s simYOY LYUbim adyKHAT na MOrye.
My family and I love to go to the seaside.
lit. We with family love to rest at the sea.
Also, authors of scientific texts use мы[my] instead of я[ya] as a manifestation of modesty, and because historically individualism in Soviet times was not welcome. For instance:
Мы сказали в начале доклада…
My skaZAli v naCHAlye dakLAda…
We said at the beginning of the report…
Sometimes we use personal pronouns figuratively to express certain emotions, like sympathy or anger. For example:
Как у нас дела?
kak oo nas diLA?
How are you doing?
lit. How are we doing?
→ A doctor might ask a sick child this. The pronoun is the accusativeNo definition set for accusativeLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. form of мы[my](we) instead of ты[ty].
Ты только на неё посмотри!
ty TOLka na niYO pasmaTREE!
Just look at you!
lit. You only look at her!
→ When addressing a woman directly, the use of “her” instead of “you” implies the woman is doing something wrong. The pronoun here is the accusative form of the pronoun она.
How to decline Russian personal pronouns?
Each Russian personal pronoun can take on a variety of different forms, depending on its caseNo definition set for caseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. The case indicates what role the noun or the pronoun that replaces the noun plays in the sentence, sort of like the difference between “she” and “her” in English.
The forms of personal pronouns are listed in all six cases below. Follow the links in the table to learn more about when you might want to use each case.
| я[ya](I) | ты[ty](you) | он /оно[on/aNO](he/it) | она[aNA](she) | мы[my](we) | вы[vy](you) | они[aNEE](they) |
| меня[miNYA] | тебя[tiBYA] | (н)его[(n)iVO] | (н)её[(n)iYO] | нас[nas] | вас[vas] | (н)их[(n)ikh] |
|
| мне[mnye] | тебе[tiBYE] | нём[nyom] | ней[nyey] | | | |
| (н)ему[(n)iMOO] | (н)ей[(n)yey] | нам[nam] | вам[vam] | (н)им[(n)im] |
| мной[mnoy] | тобой[taBOY] | (н)им[(n)im] | (н)ей[(n)yey] | нами[NAmi] | вами[VAmi] | (н)ими[(n)Imi] |
The pronouns он[on](he), она[aNA](she), and они[aNEE](they) get the letter н[n] in the beginning of their forms in the genitive, accusative, dative, prepositional, and instrumental cases, only when they follow prepositionsNo definition set for prepositionsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. For example:
С ними всегда весело!
s NEEmi fsigDA VYEsila!
It's always fun with them!
Какой музей! В нём так интересно!
kaKOY mooZYEY! v nyom tak intiRYESna!
What a museum! It's so interesting (to be in it)!
Summary
When using personal pronouns in Russian, keep in mind that we learned that…
In Russian there are eight personal pronouns: я[ya](I), ты[ty](you), он[on](he), она[anA](she), оно[aNO](it), мы[my](we), вы[vy](you), and они[aNEE](they).
ты[ty] → informal singular “you”
вы[vy] → plural “you” or formal singular “you”
Whether you use он[on](he), она[anA](she), оно[aNO](it) depends on the grammatical gender of the noun you replace.
In Russian, we declineNo definition set for declineLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. personal pronouns. You need to memorize all forms of personal pronouns in all six cases.
Now you’re ready to try out our Russian personal pronouns exercises! Good luck!
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