Quenya 

-ntya

their

-ntya, possessive 3rd person pl. pronominal ending: "their" (VT49:17), corresponding to -ntë as the ending for "they". Besides -ntya the form -nta is also attested, but the latter clashes with the ending for dual allative. (Other variants of Quenya uses -lta for "their", corresponding to -ltë as the ending for "they".) According to VT49:17, the ending -ntya appears as -intya following a consonant (other sources point to -e- rather than -i- as the connecting vowel in such cases).

-ntya

suffix. theirs

-nta

their

-nta (2) possessive 3rd person pl. pronominal ending: "their" (VT49:17). Lintienta "their speed" (PE17:58), nassentar "their true-being[s]" (PE17:175). This ending corresponds to -ntë "they" (other versions of Quenya uses -ltë for "they" and hence -lta for "their"). Also -ntya, q.v. According to VT49:17, the ending -nta appears as -inta following a consonant (other sources point to -e- rather than -i- as the connecting vowel in such cases).

-nta

suffix. their

Variations

  • -nta ✧ PE17/057; PE17/132; PE17/190
  • -ntya ✧ VT49/17 (-ntya)
  • -(i)nta/-(i)ntya ✧ VT49/17
Quenya [PE17/057; PE17/132; PE17/190; VT49/17] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-ltya

suffix. theirs

-lta

their

-lta (and -ltya), 3rd person pl. pronominal possessive suffix "their", alternating with -nta/-ntya in Tolkiens writings (VT49:16, 17), just as the ending -ltë "they" also has the variant -ntë. According to VT49:17, the ending -lta or -ltya will appear as -ilta, -iltya following a consonant; other sources rather point to -e- as the connecting vowel in such cases (VT49:17).

-lta

suffix. theirs

Variations

  • -(i)lta/-(i)ltya ✧ VT49/17
Quenya [PE17/190; VT49/16; VT49/17] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-ntë

they

-ntë "they", pronomimal ending, inflexion of 3rd person plural when no subject is previously mentioned (CO; see also VT49:49). This ending competes with -ltë (q.v.) in Tolkiens conception (VT49:57; for "they do", both carintë and cariltë are attested, VT49:16 vs. 17). The corresponding pronominal possessive suffix appears as -ntya or -nta in various sources.

-ntë

suffix. they

Variations

  • -nte ✧ PE17/057; PE17/190; UT/317; VT49/17
Quenya [PE17/057; PE17/190; UT/317; VT49/17] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-twa

their

-twa 2) an pronominal possessive ending mentioned in one chart of pronouns, apparently "their" referring to two persons (VT49:16); this may be an ending used in colloquial Quenya rather than formal language (it is listed together with the endings -ya "his, her" and -rya "their", that are explicitly said to belong to colloquial Quenya) (VT49:16-17)

ta

they, them

ta (3) pron. "they, them", an "impersonal" 3rd person pl. stem, referring "only to 'abstracts' or to things (such as inanimates) not by the Eldar regarded as persons" (VT43:20, cf. ta as an inanimate Common Eldarin plural pronoun, VT49:52). Compare te, q.v. The word ta occurring in some versions of Tolkien's Quenya Lord's Prayer may exemplify this use of ta as an "impersonal" plural pronoun: emmë avatyarir ta** "we forgive them" (VT43:8, 9; this refers to trespasses, not the trespassers). However, since Tolkien also wanted ta to mean "that" (see #1 above), he may seem to be somewhat dissatisfied with ta "they, them", introducing variant forms like tai (VT49:32) to free up ta as a sg. pronoun. In one document, tai was in turn altered to te (VT49:33), which could suggest that the distinction between animate and inanimate "they, them" was abandoned and the form te (q.v.) could be used for both. In some documents, Tolkien seems to use tar as the plural form (VT49:56 mentions this as an uncertain reading in a source where the word was struck out; compare ótar under ó**-).

tai

they, them

tai (2) pron. "they, them", 3rd person pl., used with reference to inanimates rather than persons or living things (VT49:32, see ta #3 above). Perhaps to avoid the clash with tai "that which", the pronoun tai "they, them" was altered to te in at least one manuscript (VT49:33), so that it would merge with the pronoun used of living beings and the distinction between animate and inanimate would be abandoned (see te).

-lto

they

-lto, "Qenya" pronominal ending "they"; see -ltë

-ltë

they

-ltë, 3rd person pl. pronominal suffix, "they" (VT49:51; cariltë "they do", VT49:16, 17). It alternates with -ntë in Tolkiens manuscripts (VT49:17, 57). In his early material, the ending also appears as -lto, occurring in Fíriel's Song (meldielto "they are beloved" and cárielto "they made"), also in LT1:114: tulielto "they have come" (cf. VT49:57). Compare -lta, -ltya as the ending for "their".

-ltë

suffix. they

Derivations

  • te “they” ✧ VT49/50

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
te/se > -lte[-lte]✧ VT49/50

Variations

  • -lte ✧ PE17/075; PE17/190; VT49/16; VT49/17 (-lte); VT49/51
Quenya [PE17/075; PE17/190; VT49/16; VT49/17; VT49/51] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-ttë

they

-ttë (1) "they", dual 3rd person pronominal ending ("the two of them") (VT49:51), replacing (also within the legendarium) the older ending -stë (which was later used for the second person only). This older ending -stë corresponds to a possessive ending -sta "their" (VT49:16), but this was presumably likewise altered to *-tta as the new ending for dual "their" = "of the two of them".

toi

they

toi pron. "they" (FS; replaced by te in LotR-style Quenya?)

te

they, them

te pron. "they, them", 3rd person pl. (VT49:51, LotR3:VI ch. 4, translated in Letters:308). The pronoun te represents an original stem-form (VT49:50). Dative ten, téna or tien "for them, to them" (q.v.) Stressed (VT49:51). Ótë "with them", q.v. VT43:20 connects te "them" with a discussion of Common Eldarin pronominal stems (ca. 1940s), where te is the "personal" 3rd person pl. stem, referring to persons rather than abstracts or inanimates (which are denoted by ta instead; see, however, the entry ta #3 regarding the problems with this form, and the hints that te may possibly be used with reference to inanimates as well)). Also consider the reflexive pronoun intë "themselves", the final element of which is apparently this pronoun te; see also for the dual form.

they, them

pron. "they, them", 3rd person dual ("the two of them"), both "personal and neuter" (the pronoun can be used of persons and things alike). (VT49:51) Tolkien also considered tet for the same meaning, listing it alongside in one source (VT49:56), but this form was apparently abandoned.

Sindarin 

-wen

suffix. their

_3rd pl. poss. suff. their.See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -ent_. >> -ent

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:46] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

hîn

they

(of women) hîn. It is unclear whether Tolkien maintained this ”Noldorin” pronoun in Sindarin.

hîn

they

. It is unclear whether Tolkien maintained this ”Noldorin” pronoun in Sindarin.

Primitive elvish

te

pronoun. they

Derivatives

  • -te-tē̆ “3rd pl reflexive” ✧ VT49/21
    • Q. -ttë “themselves” ✧ VT49/21
  • Q. -ltë “they” ✧ VT49/50
  • Q. -t “they (object suffix)”
  • Q. te “them” ✧ VT49/50
  • Q. -ttë “they (dual)” ✧ VT49/50
  • ᴺS. tin “them”

Variations

  • TE ✧ VT48/24; VT48/25
  • t(e) ✧ VT49/17
  • te/se ✧ VT49/50
Primitive elvish [VT48/24; VT48/25; VT49/17; VT49/21; VT49/37; VT49/50; VT49/52] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Qenya 

he

pronoun. they

Element in

Qenya [PE22/106; PE22/115; PE22/118; PE22/123; PE22/127] Group: Eldamo. Published by

intin

pronoun. they

@@@ Regarding -n see “the final -m/n that sometimes appears at the end of object pronouns in pl. and belongs to them, not to the subject.” (PE22/94) as suggested by Aleksandr Zapragajev: j-teuber.github.io

Element in

Variations

  • Intin ✧ PE22/124

toi

pronoun. they

Element in

Variations

  • Toi ✧ LR/072; LR/072; LR/072

Middle Primitive Elvish

khe

pronoun. they

Variations

  • khe ✧ PE22/094
Middle Primitive Elvish [PE22/094] Group: Eldamo. Published by