5.1. Possessives ✅
5.1.1. Possessives?
Possessives are words that describe the relationship of possession.
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Possessive adjectives are adjectives that describe the relationship of possession. They precede the noun.
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Possessive pronouns replace a previously-mentioned noun (ex: mine, yours, his, hers).
For both possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns, they agree with the gender and quantity of the noun they refer to.
5.1.2. Possessive Adjectives
Full Forms (Table and Examples)
| PERSON | MASCULINE SINGULAR | FEMININE SINGULAR | MASCULINE PLURAL | FEMININE PLURAL | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First person singular (Èo) | mèo | mèa | mèos | mèas | my |
| Familiar second person singular (Tu) | too | toa | toos | toas | your |
| Formal second person singular (Vós) | vòstro | vòstra | vòstros | vòstras | your |
| Third person singular (Elle / Ella) | soo | soa | soos | soas | his / her / its |
| First person plural (Nós / Nosaltros / Nosaltras) | nòstro | nòstra | nòstros | nòstras | our |
| Second person plural (Vós / Vosaltros / Vosaltras) | vòstro | vòstra | vòstros | vòstras | your |
| Third person plural (Ellos / Ellas) | loro soo | loro / lora soa | loros soos | loros / loras soas | their |
Below are some examples:
| Mèo libro | My book |
| Mèa casa | My house |
| Mèos libros | My books |
| Mèas casas | My houses |
| Too libro | Your book |
| Toa casa | Your house |
A way of reducing ambiguity is to avoid using a possessive adjective and instead use a subject pronoun with the preposition "de".
| Lo libro de elle | His book |
| Lo nome de ella | Her name |
In Neolatin, the use of the definite article before the possessive adjective is optional.
| Mèo nome / Lo mèo nome | My name |
| Toa mano / La toa mano | Your hand |
| Loro òllîos / Los loro òllîos | Their eyes |
Avoid using possessive adjectives with body parts and belongings.
| Me dòle lo braccîo. | My arm hurts. (Literally: The arm hurts me.) |
| Lava-te las manos. | Wash your hands. (Literally: Wash yourself the hands.) |
Loro?
The possessive "loro" is inherited from the Latin "illōrum", the genitive masculine plural of "ille". In Romance languages, it was originally uninflected, or in other words, invariable, regardless of gender and quantity. This is still the case in Italian ("loro") and Romanian ("lor"). This was originally the case in French ("leur"), but it then gained a plural form in Middle French ("leurs").
In Neolatin, there are three options for using "loro":
- Conservative: Like in Italian and Romanian, "loro" is invariable and does not change to agree with the gender and quantity of the noun (ex: loro casas).
- French: Like in French and Occitan, use "loro" in such a way that it only agrees with the quantity of the noun, and not the gender (ex: loros casas).
- Regularized: Treat "loro" as if it were completely regularized, always agreeing with the given noun in gender and quantity (ex: loras casas).
Loro vs Soo?
In modern Romance languages, the cognate for "soo" in Romance languages outside of Iberia is only used in a singular sense. For example In Romance languages of Iberia, cognates for "soo" are used in both a singular sense and a plural sense. For example, "su libro" in Spanish can mean both "her book" (the book of one person), "their book" (the book of multiple people) and even "your book".
In a plural sense, both "loro" and "soo" are valid. It is interesting to note that, although the plural sense of "soo" is particular of Romance languages of Iberia today, there is a historical explanation behind "loro" and "soo".
Originally, Latin had reflexive and non-reflexive possessives. Romance "soo" comes from the Latin possessive "suus" (nominative masculine singular form). This possessive was used in both a singular sense and a plural sense, with the key meaning that it was reflexive.
For example, in a singular sense: "Puer fēlem suam amat" means "The boy loves his cat", meaning, the cat that belongs to this boy in particular.
If the sense were not reflexive, then a genitive form of the pronoun "is" would be used; namely: eius (singular), eōrum (masculine plural and neuter plural) and eārum (feminine plural). As a side note, "eōrum" is similar to "illōrum", the genitive masculine plural of "ille", from all of which came the Romance possessive "loro".
Therefore, in contrast, if the sentence were "Puer fēlem eius amat", this would mean that the boy loves the cat that belongs to someone else (non-reflexive).
More importantly, in a plural sense, observe the translations of the sentence "Petrus and Ioanna have their books":
- (Reflexive) Petrus et Ioanna libros suos habent.
- (Non-reflexive) Petrus et Ioanna libros eorum habent.
The idea is that, although in most modern Romance languages, "soo" is restricted for singular subjects and "loro" for plural subjects, this was not the situation in Latin. In Latin, it was simply a distinction between reflexive and non-reflexive possession. The fact that cognates for "soo" in languages of Iberia is used in both a singular sense and a plural sense, although it is particular, is, in reality, a remnant of this practice from Latin.
Vòstro?
The polite possessive is "vòstro". In Iberia and Italy, the polite form is their cognates of "soo". In other words, languages in these regions use the same possessive for the formal second person (you) and the third person (his/her/its). For the sake of conservatism and unambiguity, "vòstro" is the polite form for both the singular (formal) and plural subjects in the second person.
Too and Soo?
The pronunciations of both "too" and "soo" is with a hiatus, meaning, having the pronunciations of [ˈt̪o.o] and [ˈso.o], respectively. "Too" and "soo" come from Latin "tuum" and "suum".
Furthermore, there are alternative forms used by some Neolatin speakers: "tuo" and "suo". However, at the time of this writing, these forms and their validity have not been studied enough. Therefore, the forms "too" and soo" are recommended.
Long-Form Possessive Adjectives for Emphasis
Use a full possessive adjective after the noun to emphasize ownership.
| Un amico mèo | A friend of mine |
| Cuella cantsone toa | That song of yours |
It is worth noting that the position of the adjective can change in certain phrases depending on the language. For example: "¡Dios mío!" in Spanish, but "Meu Deus!" in Portuguese and "Mio Dio!" in Italian. Italian has some fixed phrases, like "piacere mio", "a casa mia" and "colpa mia". For the purpose of consistency, in general, Neolatin uses the adjective after the noun for emphasis.
Reduced Forms
Neolatin also presents "reduced forms" of possessive adjectives.
| PERSON | MASCULINE SINGULAR | FEMININE SINGULAR | MASCULINE PLURAL | FEMININE PLURAL | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First person singular (Èo) | mo | ma | mos | mas | my |
| Familiar second person singular (Tu) | to | ta | tos | tas | your |
| Formal second person singular (Vós) | vò | vò | vòs | vòs | your |
| Third person singular (Elle / Ella) | so | sa | sos | sas | his / her / its |
| First person plural (Nós / Nosaltros / Nosaltras) | nò | nò | nòs | nòs | our |
| Second person plural (Vós / Vosaltros / Vosaltras) | vò | vò | vòs | vòs | your |
| Third person plural (Ellos / Ellas) | so | sa | sos | sas | their |
These reduced possessives only function as adjectives, and they are always used without articles (ex: mos libros). Their use is perhaps more appropriate in a poetic register, especially the forms "nò, "nòs", "vò", "vòs", which are a minority in Romance languages. Despite the existence of these reduced forms, the "full possessives" are the recommended forms for normal use.
5.1.3. Possessive Pronouns
| PERSON | MASCULINE SINGULAR | FEMININE SINGULAR | MASCULINE PLURAL | FEMININE PLURAL | TRANSLATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First person singular (Èo) | mèo | mèa | mèos | mèas | mine |
| Familiar second person singular (Tu) | too | toa | toos | toas | yours |
| Formal second person singular (Vós) | vòstro | vòstra | vòstros | vòstras | yours |
| Third person singular (Elle / Ella) | soo | soa | soos | soas | his / hers |
| First person plural (Nós / Nosaltros / Nosaltras) | nòstro | nòstra | nòstros | nòstras | ours |
| Second person plural (Vós / Vosaltros / Vosaltras) | vòstro | vòstra | vòstros | vòstras | yours |
| Third person plural (Ellos / Ellas) | loro soo | loro / lora soa | loros soos | loros / loras soas | theirs |
In Neolatin, the definite article is obligatory before the possessive pronoun.
| Pone toa mano sopre la mèa. | Put your hand on mine. |
| La mèa èst mellîore que la toa. | Mine is better than yours. |
The exception to the rule is the omission of the definite article after the verb "èssere"; specifically, if it answers the question "De qui èst cuesto?" (Whose is this?).
| Cueste libro èst mèo. | This book is mine. |