| Personal pronouns | Finnish | English Equivalent / Notes on Usage |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular | minä | I |
| 2nd person singular | sinä | the singular, informal 'you', used among friends and in less formal occasions |
| 3rd person singular | hän / se | he, she / it - Finnish has no grammatical gender and one word, hän, represents both 'he' and 'she.' Se refers to animals and things. Se is sometimes used instead of hän in colloquial style. |
| 1st person plural | me | we |
| 2nd person plural | te | you - both plural 'you' and formal 'you' that is used when addressing several people or instead of sinä when addressing only one person in formal situations. |
| 3rd person plural | he / ne | they - he refers to people, ne to animals and things. |
When followed by verbs, the pronouns minä, sinä, me, and te can be left out unless one needs to emphasize the pronoun. This is because the verb ending shows what the subject is. Third person pronouns, hän, se, he, and ne cannot be left out. Therefore, it is possible to say:
| olen instead of minä olen olet instead of sinä olet olemme instead of me olemme olette instead of te olette |
Last reviewed: January 2004.
Please send comments to: prentz@westminstercollege.edu