Russian Sounds and Inflections

13. Pronominal Adjective Declension

13 PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVE DECLENSION 13.1. PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES The distinguishing formal characteristic of pronominal adjectives, also called adjectival pronouns, is that the endings of the N and A (i.e., the direct cases), in all genders and in both sg. and pl., are short and noun-like: -ъ§§ , -о, -, pl. - or -Ο, morphophonemic {-Ø, -o, -a, -′i or -′e}. The vowel of the Npl., whether  or Ο, appears also in the Isg. masc.-neut., and in oblique endings of the plural. Another feature is that the endings, if stressed, are stressed not on the first syllable of the ending, but on the last (as ог ). In all pronominal adjectives, optional Isg. fem. endings -Οю {-′eju} or -ою {-oju} can be encountered in older literature. 13.1.1. мо´й, тво´й, сво´й, че´й, се´й The question of the underlying status of the endings of these pronominal adjectives is of interest. It appears that the endings in forms like мог , мом , мо , and so on (Chapter 13.1.1), are basically soft, i.e., -Οго -Οму -Ο {-′evo -′eju -′ej}, instead of being respellings of -ого -ому -о , and so on, after stem-final {j}. Note that the Gsg. of мо is мо , not *мо , as one would expect if the ending were adjectival -о . Additionally, a form like мог is pronounced [mEji˙vó], not *[mEjVvó], with the pronunciation of reduced {′e}, not of reduced {o} after a soft consonant. м (мо -) my, mine (possessive of ) Masc. Neut. Fem. Pl. N м мо мо мо G мог мог мо мо D мом мом мо мом A = N/G = N мо = N/G I мом мом мо мом P мом мом мо мо 13.1.1. мо´й, тво´й, сво´й, че´й, се´й 265  (| -) whose (possessive of ко) Masc. Neut. Fem. Pl. N     G г г   D м м  м A = N/G = N  = N/G I м м  м P м м   Note the mobile vowel in  г , stem | - or ь§§ -. Negative:  ‘no one’s’, with prepositions other than б splitting off the -, as in     с, but б   мо. с this (archaic). The Nsg. masc. form is с , suggesting the stem с| or сь§§ -. However, in other forms the stem is с- or, in a couple of instances, с -. Masc. Neut. Fem. Pl. N с с с с G сг сг с с D см см с см A = N/G = N с or с = N/G I см см с см P см см с с This item survives mainly in phrases: до с  ,  с ,  с ог  с сг , с ! у. 13.1.2. ва´ш, на´ш (POSSESSIVE OF вы, мы) "ш (ш-) your (pl.) Masc. Neut. Fem. Pl. N "ш "ш "ш "ш G "шго "шго "ш "ш D "шму "шму "ш "шм A = N/G = N "шу = N/G I "шм "шм "ш "шм P "шм "шм "ш "ш 266 13. PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVE DECLENSION 13.1.3. са´м, оди´н, э´тот с"м (см-) self, same, alone Masc. Neut. Fem. Pl. N с"м см см" с"м G смог смог см см D смом смом см смм A = N/G = N см (смо) = N/G I смм смм см смм P см м см м см см The Asg. fem ending -о resembles the Asg. of о": . This word should not be confused with с"м$ ‘most’. Note for one thing the difference in stress: с"м$ has stem-fixed stress, while с"м has singular endstress and plural shifting-stress. Additionally, с"м shows the vowel  instead of $ in the masc.-neut. Isg. and in the plural. од (од|- or одь§§ -) one (exceptional mobile  in the Nsg. masc.) Masc. Neut. Fem. Pl. N од од од" од G одог одог од од D одом одом од одм A = N/G = N од = N/G I одм одм од одм P од м од м од од %о (&-(|)- or &-(ъ§§ )) this (Nsg. masc. formant -| or-ъ§§  is dropped in the other forms) Masc. Neut. Fem. Pl. N %о %о % % G %ого %ого %о % D %ому %ому %о %м A = N/G = N %у = N/G I %м %м %о %м P %ом %ом %о % 13.1.4. ве´сь, то´т PLURAL AND ISG. MASC.-NEUT. FORMED IN Ο 267 13.1.4. ве´сь, то´т PLURAL AND ISG. MASC.-NEUT. FORMED IN Ο  с (|с- or ь§§ с-) all (mobile transitional ) Masc. Neut. Fem. Pl. N  с с с с G сг сг с с  D см см с с м A = N/G = N с = N/G I с м с м с с м P см см с с  The endings are -Οго -Οму -Ο {-′evo -′emu -′ej}, [vs¸i˙˙vó vs¸i˙mu vs¸éj], etc.; otherwise one would expect, say, Isg. or Dpl. *см, DLpl. *с.   (-(|)-) that (Nsg. masc. -| or-ъ§§  is dropped in the other forms) Masc. Neut. Fem. Pl. N    "  G ог ог    D ом ом   м A = N/G = N  = N/G I  м  м   м P  м  м    As with  с, the Isg. and plural is formed with the vowel Ο, instead of  as with the other adjectival pronouns, including otherwise similar-looking %о %! %. 13.1.5. INDEFINITE PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVE не´кий ‘A CERTAIN’ Oblique forms of this item preserve archaic pronominal adjective endings: Masc. Neut. Fem. Pl. N  к  ко  к  к G  кого  кого  ко  ко D  кому  кому  ко  ком A = N/G = N  кую = N/G I  ком  ком  ко  ком P  ком  ком  ко  ко Forms Isg. masc./neut.  км, GDIsg. fem.  ко , and plural forms  к,  км,  км are more common than the forms given above. The 268 13. PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVE DECLENSION item %к has similar forms in the masc./neut. G and D: %кого, %кому, but otherwise follows a regular adjectival declension. 13.1.6. RECIPROCAL PRONOUN дру´г… дру´га ‘ONE ANOTHER’ N — — — G д г д г D д г д гу A д г д г I д г с д гом P д г о д г In this construction, the first member remains unchanged. The construction appears to be masculine in form, but it is neutral as to gender. The second member can be governed by a verb or a preposition, for example O лб д г д г. O омг"ю д г д гу. O гоо д г с д гом. O гоо д г о д г. 13.2. RELATIVE ADJECTIVES Relative adjectives are a kind of possessive adjective usually formed from names for animals with...