Editing Sumerian language (section)

==== Pronouns ====
The attested [[personal pronoun]]s are:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
!independent
!possessive suffix/enclitic
|-
!1st person singular
|''𒂷''(''𒂊'') ''g̃e<sub>26</sub>(-e)''
|''𒈬 -g̃u<sub>10</sub>''
|-
!2nd person singular
|''𒍢 ze<sub>2</sub>'', Old Babylonian ''𒍝𒂊 za-e''
|''𒍪 -zu''
|-
!3rd person singular animate
|''𒀀𒉈 a-ne'' or ''𒂊''𒉈 ''e-ne''{{Efn|The variant with /e/ is found in Old Babylonian and has a few attestations in Ur III Neo-Sumerian.}}
|(𒀀)''𒉌 -(a)-ni''{{Efn|The initial /a/ is present after consonants (albeit not always written, especially in earlier periods), but contracts with a preceding vowel.<ref name="Jagersma 2010: 214-215, 218">Jagersma (2010: 214-215, 218)</ref>}}
|-
!3rd person inanimate{{Efn|The inanimate has no number distinction, so 𒁉 ''-bi'' can mean both "its" and "their".}}
|
|''𒁉 -bi''
|-
!1st person plural
|(𒈨𒂗𒉈𒂗 ''me-en-de<sub>3</sub>-en''?, ''𒈨 me''?){{Efn|The forms /menden/ or /me/ for "we" and /menzen/ for "you (pl.)" are only attested in Sumero-Akkadian lexical lists and, in the case of /mende(n)/, in an Old Babylonian literary text. Two of them seem to consist of the enclitic copula conjugated in the corresponding person and number ("(who) we are", "(who) you (pl.) are"). Another form given in lexical lists is 𒍝𒂊𒈨𒂗𒍢𒂗 ''za-e-me-en-ze<sub>2</sub>-en'', clearly a combination of the personal plural ''you'' (sing.) and the 2nd person plural form of the copula. For these reasons, their authenticity is considered dubious.<ref name="Edzard">Edzard (2003: 55-56)</ref><ref name="Thomsen">Thomsen (2001: 67)</ref>}}
|''𒈨 -me''
|-
!2nd person plural
|(𒈨𒂗𒍢𒂗 ''me-en-ze<sub>2</sub>-en''?){{Efn|The forms /menden/ or /me/ for "we" and /menzen/ for "you (pl.)" are only attested in Sumero-Akkadian lexical lists and, in the case of /mende(n)/, in an Old Babylonian literary text. Two of them seem to consist of the enclitic copula conjugated in the corresponding person and number ("(who) we are", "(who) you (pl.) are"). Another form given in lexical lists is 𒍝𒂊𒈨𒂗𒍢𒂗 ''za-e-me-ze<sub>2</sub>-en'', clearly a combination of the personal plural "you" (sing.) and the 2nd person plural form of the copula. For these reasons, their authenticity is considered dubious.<ref name="Edzard" /><ref name="Thomsen" />}}
|''𒍪𒉈𒉈 -zu-ne-ne''
|-
!3rd person plural animate
|''𒀀/𒂊𒉈𒉈 a/e-ne-ne{{Efn|The variant with /e/ is found in Old Babylonian and has a few attestations in Ur III Neo-Sumerian.<ref>Jagersma (2010: 210-211)</ref><ref>Thomsen 2001: 68</ref><ref>Foxvog (2016: 30)</ref><ref>Edzard (2003: 55)</ref>}}''
|''𒀀/𒂊𒉈𒉈 (-a)-ne-ne,{{Efn|The initial /a/ is present after consonants (albeit not always written, especially in earlier periods), but contracts with a preceding vowel.<ref name="Jagersma 2010: 214-215, 218"/>}} 𒁉 -bi''<ref>Thomsen (2001: 73), Zólyomi (2017: 39)</ref>
|}
The stem vowels of ''𒂷''(''𒂊'') ''g̃e<sub>26</sub>(-e)'' and ''𒂊 ze<sub>2</sub>'' are assimilated to a following case suffix containing /a/ and then have the forms ''𒂷 g̃a-'' and 𒍝 ''za-;'' e.g. 𒍝𒊏 ''za-ra'' 'to you (sg.)'.

As far as [[demonstrative pronouns]] are concerned, Sumerian most commonly uses the enclitic ''𒁉 -bi'' to express the meaning "this". There are rare instances of other demonstrative enclitics such as 𒂊 ''-e'' "this", 𒊺 ''-še'' "that" and 𒊑 ''-re'' "that". The difference between the three has been explained in terms of increasing distance from the speaker<ref>Jagersma (2009: 220-225)</ref> or as a difference between proximity to the speaker, proximity to the listener and distance from both, akin to the [[Japanese pronouns#Demonstrative and interrogative pronouns|Japanese]] or [[Latin declension#Other demonstrative pronouns|Latin]] three-term demonstrative system.<ref name=wilcke2013>Wilcke, Claus 2013. ’Dieser Ur-Namma hier… Eine auf die Darstellung weisende Statueninschrift.’ ''Revue d’assyriologie et d’archéologie orientale'' 107: 173–186. [https://www.cairn.info/revue-d-assyriologie-2013-1-page-173.htm Online].</ref> The independent demonstrative pronouns are 𒉈𒂗/𒉈𒂊 ''ne-e''(''n'') "this (thing)" and 𒄯 ''ur<sub>5</sub>'' "that (thing)";<ref>Jagersma (2010: 225-228), Edzard (2003: 57)</ref> ''-ne(n)'' might also be used as another enclitic.<ref>Edzard (2003: 49)</ref>{{Efn|It has been ascribed a more contrastive nuance "this (as opposed to others)".<ref name=wilcke2013/>}} "Now" is 𒉌𒉈𒂠 ''i<sub>3</sub>-ne-eš<sub>2</sub>'' or 𒀀𒁕𒀠 ''a-da-al''. For "then" and "there", the declined noun phrases 𒌓𒁀 ''ud-ba'' "at that time" and 𒆠𒁀 ''ki-ba'' "at that place" are used; "so" is 𒄯𒁶 ''ur<sub>5</sub>''-''gen<sub>7</sub>'', lit. "like that".<ref>Jagersma (2003: 228)</ref>

The [[interrogative pronouns]] are 𒀀𒁀 ''a-ba'' "who" and 𒀀𒈾 ''a-na'' "what" (also used as "whoever" and "whatever" when introducing dependent clauses). The stem for "where" is 𒈨 ''me-''<ref name=jagersma_wh/> (used in the locative, terminative and ablative to express "where", "whither" and "whence", respectively<ref>Foxvog (2016: 35)</ref><ref name="Thomsen119">Thomsen (2001: 119)</ref><ref>Edzard (2003: 27)</ref>) . "When" is 𒇷/𒂗 ''en<sub>3</sub>''/''en'',<ref name=jagersma_wh/> but also the stem  𒈨(𒂊)𒈾 ''me-(e)-na'' is attested for "when" (in the emphatic form ''me-na-am<sub>3</sub>'' and in the terminative ''me-na-še<sub>3</sub>'' "until when?", "how long?").<ref>Thomsen (2001: 77)</ref> "How" and "why" are expressed by 𒀀𒈾𒀸 ''a-na-aš'' ({{lit|what for?}}) and 𒀀𒁶 ''a''-''gen<sub>7</sub>'' "how" (an equative case form, perhaps "like what?").<ref name=jagersma_wh>Jagersma (2003: 228-229)</ref> The expected form 𒀀𒈾𒁶 ''a-na-gen<sub>7</sub>'' is used in Old Babylonian.<ref name="Thomsen119" />

An [[indefinite pronoun]] is 𒈾𒈨 ''na-me'' "any", which is only attested in [[Grammatical modifier|attributive]] function until the Old Babylonian period,<ref>Jagersma (2010: 59)</ref> but may also stand alone in the sense "anyone, anything" in late texts.<ref>Edzard (2003: 59), Thomsen (2001: 78)</ref> It can be added to nouns to produce further expressions with pronominal meaning such as 𒇽𒈾𒈨 ''lu<sub>2</sub> na-me'' "anyone", 𒃻𒈾𒈨 ''nig̃<sub>2</sub> na-me'' "anything", 𒆠𒈾𒈨 ''ki na-me'' "anywhere", 𒌓𒈾𒈨 ''ud<sub>4</sub> na-me'' "ever, any time". The nouns 𒇽 ''lu<sub>2</sub>'' "man" and 𒃻 ''nig̃<sub>2</sub>'' "thing" are also used for "someone, anyone" and "something, anything".<ref>Jagersma (2010: 231-234)</ref> With negation, all of these expressions naturally acquire the meanings "nobody", "nothing", "nowhere" and "never".<ref>Foxvog (2016: 36)</ref>

The [[reflexive pronoun]] is 𒅎(𒋼) ''ni<sub>2</sub>''(''-te'') "self", which generally occurs with possessive pronouns attached: 𒅎''𒈬 ni<sub>2</sub>-g̃u<sub>10</sub>'' "my-self", etc. The longer form appears in the third person animate (𒅎𒋼𒉌 ''ni<sub>2</sub>-te-ni'' "him/herself", 𒅎𒋼𒉈𒉈 ''ni<sub>2</sub>-te-ne-ne'' "themselves")''.''<ref>Jagersma (2010: 234-239)</ref>