Demonstrative Pronouns
The main demonstrative pronouns in Middle Egyptian are:
| Series | Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Neutral |
|---|---|---|---|
| -n | ๐ช๐ pn | ๐๐ tn | ๐, ๐๐ nn |
| -f(๊ฃ) | ๐ช๐ pf, ๐ช๐๐ฟ๐ pf๊ฃ | ๐๐ tf, ๐๐๐ฟ๐ tf๊ฃ | ๐๐ nf, ๐๐๐ฟ๐ nf๊ฃ |
| -w | ๐ช๐ ฑ pw | ๐๐ ฑ tw | ๐๐๐๐ ฑ nw |
| -๊ฃ | ๐ ฎ๐ฟ p๊ฃ | ๐๐ฟ t๊ฃ | ๐๐ฟ n๊ฃ |
The n series is typical for Middle Egyptian and can mean “this/these” or “that/those” by context. The w series are older and more formal in Middle Egyptian. The ๊ฃ series is more colloquial (and in later Egyptian, they develop into definite articles). The f series, when they are used, are often used to contrast with the other three series, in which case the f series are more distant “that/those”, while the other series then is “this/these”: zt tn, zj pf “this woman, that man”.
The “neutral” demonstratives are used for duals or plurals of either gender and are often used without nouns, in sentences like แธd.n.f nn “He said this.“
When used to modify nouns, the singular demonstratives (p– and t-) follow their nouns: แธrt tn “this hand”, but the neutral ones come before the nouns and require the indirect genitive n: nn n nแนฏrw “these/those gods”, nn n mjwwt “these/those mothers”.
Note that the indirect genitive marker is always n, because the demonstrative itself is effectively a masculine singular: “these gods” is literally “this-thing of gods”.
With a genitive phrase, the demonstrative must come after both words in a direct genitive (since nothing can come between the nouns in a direct genitive), but after the first is permitted with an indirect genitive: แธฅwt-nแนฏr tn “this temple” (lit. “this enclosure-of-god”), but z๊ฃ pn n แธคrw “this son of Horus”.
Archaic Demonstratives
The neutral n- demonstratives were originally only used without a noun, and instead, plural nouns used these demonstratives which were archaic/religious in Middle Egyptian. Like the p- and t- demonstratives, these follow their nouns as modifiers, rather than using the genitive construction.
| Series | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural |
|---|---|---|
| -n | ๐๐ช๐ jpn | ๐๐ช๐๐ jptn |
| -w | ๐๐ช๐ ฑ jpw | ๐๐ช๐๐ ฑ jptw |
Vocative Demonstratives
The normal demonstratives, and the w pair of the archaic ones, can have the sense of invocation: h๊ฃ Nแธซt pw “Oh, Nakht!” literally “Oh, this Nakht!”; nแนฏrwt jptw “O goddesses!” literally “These goddesses!”
Interrogative Pronouns
Middle Egyptian has these interrogatives:
- ๐๐ or ๐ mj “who, what”, matches the dependent pronouns, so if a statement would use one of them, the equivalent question would use this.
- ๐๐๐ jแธซ “what”, used sometimes instead of mj when the question is about things rather than people or gods.
- ๐ช๐๐๐ต๐ ptr “who, what” matches the independent pronouns.
- ๐๐ฑ๐๐ jลกst “what”, used only with things (like jแธซ), but can be used at the start of a sentence as well, to match the independent pronouns as well as the dependent ones.
- ๐๐, ๐๐ญ๐ , or ๐ zy/zj, “which (one)”, can be used by itself or with a noun; if used with a noun, it goes first: zy nแนฏrt “which goddess?”