Personal pronouns & ты / вы
A1 Личные местоимения; «ты» и «вы» 4 / 50
In short
Russian has eight subject pronouns. The big choice is ты (informal “you” to one person you are close to) vs. вы (polite “you”, or “you” to more than one person). For things, “it” becomes он, она́ or оно́, matching the noun’s grammatical gender.
The rule
Russian subject pronouns come before the verb, just like in English. The two points that trip up beginners are the ты / вы choice and gendered “it”.
ты vs. вы. This is the T-V distinction.
- ты = one person you are close to: friends, family, children, pets, animals, and God in prayer. It is also a marker of intimacy or rudeness if used with the wrong person.
- вы = a polite “you” to one person (a stranger, an elder, a teacher, a customer, a boss), and the only way to say “you” to more than one person.
So вы does double duty: polite singular and plain plural. When in doubt with an adult you don’t know, use вы — it is always the safe choice. In letters, the polite singular is often capitalised (Вы), but never in the plural.
He / she / it by gender. Russian has no neutral “it” for objects. Every noun is masculine, feminine or neuter (see lesson 01), and you replace it with the matching pronoun:
- masculine → он: стол (table) → он
- feminine → она́: кни́га (book) → она́
- neuter → оно́: окно́ (window) → оно́
- any plural → они́: столы́, кни́ги, о́кна → они́
So он/она́ mean “he/she” for people and “it” for things — you choose by grammatical gender, not by meaning.
Oblique (case) forms — a preview. When a pronoun is not the subject (after a verb or a preposition), it changes shape: я → меня́, мне, мной; ты → тебя́, тебе́, тобо́й. After a preposition, the third-person forms (он, она́, они́) add an н-: у него́, к ней, с ни́ми, о нём. You will learn each set with its own case lesson; here just notice that these forms exist.
Forms & patterns
Nominative (subject) — the full set:
| Pronoun | Meaning | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| я | I | the speaker |
| ты | you (sg., informal) | one friend, child, relative, pet |
| он | he / it | a masculine noun |
| она́ | she / it | a feminine noun |
| оно́ | it | a neuter noun |
| мы | we | speaker + others |
| вы | you (polite sg. / any plural) | strangers, elders, formal; or a group |
| они́ | they | any plural noun |
Oblique forms — preview only (full tables come with each case lesson). The (н) is added when a preposition comes first.
| Case | я | ты | он / оно́ | она́ | мы | вы | они́ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nom. | я | ты | он / оно́ | она́ | мы | вы | они́ |
| Gen. | меня́ | тебя́ | (н)его́ | (н)её | нас | вас | (н)их |
| Dat. | мне | тебе́ | (н)ему́ | (н)ей | нам | вам | (н)им |
| Acc. | меня́ | тебя́ | (н)его́ | (н)её | нас | вас | (н)их |
| Instr. | мной | тобо́й | (н)им | (н)ей | на́ми | ва́ми | (н)и́ми |
| Prep. | (обо) мне | (о) тебе́ | (о) нём | (о) ней | (о) нас | (о) вас | (о) них |
Examples
| Русский | English |
|---|---|
| Я инжене́р, а она́ врач. | I am an engineer, and she is a doctor. |
| Ты говори́шь по-англи́йски? | Do you speak English? (to a friend) |
| Извини́те, вы не зна́ете, где метро́? | Excuse me, do you know where the metro is? (polite) |
| Где стол? — Он на ку́хне. | Where is the table? — It is in the kitchen. (стол → он) |
| Вот кни́га. Она́ о́чень интере́сная. | Here is a book. It is very interesting. (кни́га → она́) |
| Э́то окно́. Оно́ откры́то. | This is a window. It is open. (окно́ → оно́) |
| Мы до́ма, а они́ на рабо́те. | We are at home, and they are at work. |
| У меня́ есть вопро́с, а у него́ — нет. | I have a question, and he doesn’t. (preview: genitive + н-form) |
Common mistakes
- ты (to a stranger or an elder) -> вы - вы is the polite/safe choice; ты can sound rude or too familiar.
- кни́га -> оно́ -> она́ - pick он/она́/оно́ by the noun’s grammatical gender, not by the English meaning “it”.
- у его́ -> у него́ - after a preposition, он/она́/они́ take the н-: у него́, к ней, с ни́ми, о нём.
- Меня́ Анто́н. -> Я Анто́н. - the subject is я (nominative); меня́ is an object form, not “I”.
- using one вы form but mixing it up - one polite person still takes plural-shaped вы (вы зна́ете), never вы зна́ешь.
Tips
- When in doubt with an adult you don’t know, use вы. Switch to ты only when invited (“дава́й на ты”).
- To choose он/она́/оно́, look at the noun’s ending: consonant → он, -а/-я → она́, -о/-е → оно́ (see lesson 01).
- его́ is pronounced [йиво́] (the г sounds like в) - the same trick appears in сего́дня “today”.
- The н- rule is automatic: no preposition → его́, её, их; with a preposition → него́, неё, них.