§ 1. The Personal Pronouns.
There are four forms of the Personal pronouns. These forms are used
under various circumstances, but they are mostly reducible to a single
letter with or without its vowel for each person, the variations
depending upon (_a_) the _state_ of that letter, and (_b_) whether the
vowel is placed before or after it. The vowel is elided in some cases,
and coalesces with another vowel in others.
1. As the subject of a verb and preceding it.
2. As the subject or object of a verb and following it. This is for
some pronouns the same as the first form, for others the first form
with its initial in the second state.
3. As the object of a verb, but placed between a particle ending in a
vowel and the verb. This form is used also for possessive pronouns of
the first and second persons singular when they are preceded by the
conjunction _ha_, and, or by a preposition ending in a vowel, or by
_en_, in.
4. In composition with a preposition, and for forming the persons of
an inflected tense of a verb.
In the first and second the consonant is followed by a vowel. In the
third and fourth the consonant ends the word.
1. The First Person Singular. English, _I_ or _me_. Letter _M_ (_V_).
1st form. _mî_. _mî a vedn_, I will.
2nd form. _vî_. _gwith vî_, keep me.
3rd form. ’_m_. _neb a’m gwrîg_, he who made me.
4th form. ’_m_ or ’_v_. _genev_, with me; _dhem_, to me;
_carav_, I love.
The compounds of pronoun and preposition are written as one word, without
an apostrophe, as the form of the preposition also is often affected by
the composition. A list of these will be found later on, as they present
some irregularities.
2. The Second Person Singular. English, _thou_ or _thee_. Letter _T_
(_D_).
1st form. _tî_ (pronounced nearly _tî a vedn_, thou wilt.
_chee_, and sometimes so
written).
2nd form. _dî_ (often written _sy_ or _menjes dî_, thou
_gy_ in the older MSS., and wouldst.
pronounced _jee_, nearly).
3rd form. ’_th_ (often ’_d_ in the _mî a’th bes_, I pray
older MSS.). This is thee, _re’th tynerchys_,
followed by the second state hath greeted thee
of the initial, or in the (_Passion_, 115, 2).
case of _d_ by the fourth.
4th form. ’_s_. _genes_, with thee.
3. The Third Person Singular, masculine. English, _he_ or _him_.
Letter _V_ or _N_, or a vowel.
1st form. _ev_ (with the _v_ _ev a vedn_, he will.
very lightly sounded,
and often silent.
The older form is
_ef_).
2nd form. _ev_ or _e_. _menja ev_, he would.
3rd form. ’_n_. _mî a’n pes_, I pray him.
This form is commonly
used in the earlier
MSS. It represents
an accusative _en_ or
_hen_ which still
exists in Breton. In
more recent Cornish,
with the frequent use
of the auxiliary form
of the verb, where
the pronominal object
precedes the
infinitive in its
possessive form, this
construction became
unusual.
4th form. ’_o_. _enno_, in him, _ganso_,
with him.
In this form several
words have an
inserted _dh_ between
the preposition and
the pronoun.
_Ragdho_, for him,
_dhôdho_, to him, not
_rago_, _dhôo_. A
similar euphonic _dh_
occurs in the case of
the third persons
feminine and plural.
4. Third Person Singular, feminine. English, _she_, _her_. Letter _H_,
_S_, or a vowel.
1st form. _hŷ_. _hŷ a vedn_, she will.
2nd form. _hŷ_. _a medh hŷ_, said she.
3rd form. ’_s_. _mî a’s henow_, I name
her.
This form is rarely found in the
later MSS. Either the possessive
_î_ or the form _hŷ_ (the latter
often put after the verb) was
used, in the rare cases of this
construction.
4th form. ’_î_. _gensî_, with her;
_dhedhî_, to her.
5. First Person Plural. English, _we_, _us_. Letter _N_.
1st form. _nŷ_. _nŷ a vedn_, we will.
2nd form. _nŷ_. _na_, _blamyough nŷ_, do
not blame us.
3rd form. ’_n_. _ev a’n doro_, he will
bring us.
This form, perhaps
owing to its being
the same as the 3rd
form of the third
person singular, is
rare even in the
older MSS. The
possessive ’_gan_
(for _agan_) is
generally used
instead of it, _ev a_
’_gan doro_.
4th form. ’_n_, preceded by _ragon_, for us; _genen_,
almost any vowel. with us; _dhen_, to us;
_warnan_, on us.
6. Second Person Singular. English, _you_. Letter, _Wh_, _Gh_, or _S_.
1st form. _whŷ_. _whŷ a vedn_, you will.
2nd form. _whŷ_. _nî wreugh whŷ_, you do
not.
3rd form. ’_s_. _ev a’s doro_, he will
bring you.
This form is very rare even in
the older MSS. The possessive
’_gas_ (for _agas_) is generally
used instead.
4th form: ’_ugh_. _genough_, with you;
_dheugh_, to you.
7. Third Person Plural. English, _they_, _them_.
1st form. _ŷ_, _jŷ_, _an _ŷ a vedn_, _jŷ a vedn_,
jŷ_. or _an jŷ a vedn_, they
This last is the regular will.
form in the latest
Cornish. In the earlier
MSS. _y_ only is used
for _they_; later _an
gy_ or _an dzhei_ (as
Lhuyd writes it) became
usual. It is only found
in the MSS. of the end
of the seventeenth and
beginning of the
eighteenth century, and
probably originated in a
wrong division of words.
The third person plural
of most inflected tenses
of verbs ends in _ons_,
_ans_, _ens_. If the
pronoun were added, this
would take the form of
_ons ŷ_, etc., as in
_carons ŷ_ (_amant
illi_), they love, and
the usual pronunciation
of _s_ would soon bring
this combination to
_caronjy_, which is
easily divided into _car
onjy_. The compound
preposition form in
later Cornish often
ended in _ans_, followed
or not followed by the
1st or 2nd form of the
pronoun. Thus in
Jordan’s _Creation_
(1611) we find _anodhans
y_ (from them) for an
older _anodhe_. This
would give an additional
reason for the
confusion.
2nd form. _ŷ_. _medhons ŷ_ (often
written _medh an jy_),
said they.
3rd form. ’_s_. _mî a’s agor_, I will
open them.
4th form. ’_ns_, _e_. _dhodhans_, to them;
_gensans_ or _genjans_,
with them.
The form in _e_ is older (_dhethe_, _ganse_, etc.), but became obsolete
by the middle of the seventeenth century. It will have been seen:—
1. That the first and second persons singular are the only ones which
possess the four separate forms complete.
2. That the second form of all but these two persons is usually the same
as the first form.
3. That the third form is not much used in later Cornish except for the
same two persons.
It may also be noted that though the full and emphatic pronunciation of
_hŷ_, _nŷ_, _whŷ_, and _jŷ_ is that of the English words _high_, _nigh_,
_why_, and the first syllable of _jibe_, when, as is often the case,
there is no emphasis of any sort on them, the same thing happens to them
as commonly happens in rapid speech in English to the word _my_, and the
_y_ ceases to have the sound of _î_ English, but has the sound of a short
(not obscure) _e_ English. Thus in the common Cornish “Thank you,” _mêr_
’_ras dhô whŷ_, which is sounded as one word, _merásdhawhy_, the _y_ has
the short sound which the same letter usually has at the end of a word.
But it might happen otherwise. Thus the following sentences are within
the experience of most of us at the end of some simple commercial
transaction:—
Customer (carelessly, having received the article and paid the money),
“Thánk you.”
Shopkeeper (in a half-reproving tone), “Thank _you_, sir.”
In Cornish the customer would say “_Merásdkawhy_,” in the ordinary tone,
but the shopkeeper might answer “_Merasdha whý_, _sira_,” and would sound
the pronoun like the English word _why_, unless, being a good Cornish
speaker, he preferred to say “_Mêr_ ’_ras dhô_ ’_gas honan_” (Thanks to
yourself).
The same principle applies to _hŷ_, _nŷ_, and _an jŷ_, but less with the
last, which is generally treated as a dissyllable with the accent on the
last syllable.
§ 2. The Possessive Pronouns.
1. First Person Singular. English, _my_.
_ow_, governing the third state.
When the initial of the noun has no third state, _ow_ governs the first
state:—
_ow thâs_, my father; _ow gwlas_, my country.
After a preposition ending in a vowel, after _en_, in, changed to _e_, or
after the conjunction _ha_, and, _my_ is generally represented by ’_m_,
which governs the first state:—
_dhô’m tâs_, to my father; _ha’m tâs_, and my father.
_e’m corf_, in my body.
Sometimes in these cases the preposition or conjunction is combined with
_ow_. This is especially common in Jordan’s play of _The Creation_. The
initial, if possible, is then in the third state:—
_me haw mab_, I and my son; _thow thas_, to my father.
2. Second Person Singular. English, _thy_.
_dha_ (older form _dhe_, _dhy_), governing the second state:—
_dha dâs_, thy father.
After a preposition ending in a vowel, after _en_, or after _ha_, _thy_
is represented by ’_th_, generally governing the second state, but
sometimes, when the initial following it is _d_, the fourth.
_dhô’th dâs_, to thy father; _ha_ ’_th dâs_, and thy father.
_e_ ’_th gorf_, in thy body; _a_ ’_th trôk_ (_R_._D_., 1730), from thy
evil.
Very often these mutations were not written in the Dramas. In later
Cornish this form was not always used, but one often finds _dhô dha_, _ha
dha_, _en dha_, etc. instead.
3. Third Person Singular, masculine. English, _his_.
_e_ (older form _y_), governing the second state.
This, altered to _y_, coalesces with a preposition ending in a vowel,
forming a diphthong, which is written with an apostrophe between the two
vowels. It still governs the second state:—
_e dâs_, his father; _dhô’y_ (pron. _dhoy_) _dâs_, to his father; _ha’y
dâs_, and his father.
4. Third Person Singular, feminine; English, _her_.
_î_, governing the third state, or when there is no third state, the
first. It coalesces with prepositions ending in a vowel and with _ha_
in the same way as the masculine:—
_î thâs_, her father; _î gwlas_, her country; _ha’i thâs_, and her
father.
In the earlier MSS. both these possessive pronouns were written _y_, the
only distinction being in the initial mutation which followed. In the
later MSS. _î_ is often written _e_.
5. First Person Plural. English, _our_.
_agan_, governing the first state:—
_agan tâs_, our father.
6. Second Person Plural. English, _your_.
_agas_, governing the first state:—
_agas tâs_, your father.
7. Third Person Plural. English, _their_.
_aga_, governing the third, or failing that, the first state:—
_aga thâs_, their father; _aga gwlas_, their country.
When preceded by a preposition ending in a vowel or by _ha_, the three
plural possessive pronouns lose their initial _a_:—
_dhô_ ’_gas_, _ha_ ’_gan_, etc.
The _a_ of the last syllable of _agan_, _agas_, _aga_ is obscure, and is
often found represented by _e_, _o_, or _u_ in the MSS. Even when not
preceded by a vowel these words are often found as _gan_, _gas_, _ga_
(_gun_, _gen_, _gon_, _gus_, _guz_, _ges_, _go_).
When a pronoun is the object of a verb in the infinitive or of a verb
formed with the auxiliary verbs _gwîl_, to do, _menny_, to will, etc. and
an infinitive, the pronoun-object is represented by the possessive
pronoun preceding and governing (as to initial mutation) this
infinitive:—
_ev a wrîg ow tholla_, he did deceive me.
_mî a vedn e grejy_, I will believe it.
_mî a wrîg agas danvon_, I did send you.
The reason of this is that in Cornish, as in the other Celtic languages,
the infinitive is counted as a verbal noun, signifying _the act of
doing_. This conception of the infinitive explains many Celtic
constructions. The literal force of the above examples would be “he did
(or made) the deceiving of me,” “I will the believing of it,” “I did the
sending of you.” Similarly, when the object is a noun, it really follows
the infinitive as an appositional genitive.
Frequently the second form of the corresponding personal pronoun follows
a noun preceded by a possessive pronoun. This ought to be for emphasis,
and, when it is so, the sound of the personal pronoun would be its full
sound; but it is frequently merely redundant, and then it is enclitic,
forming as it were an unaccented additional syllable tacked on to the
noun:—
_agan Tâs ny_, Our Father (nearly ’_gun Tázny_).
_dhô_ ’_m brodar vî_, to my brother.
_agas levar why_, your book.
_herlya yu_ ’_gan gwary ny_, hurling is our sport.
The last sentence is a good example of possible pronunciations. If it is
an independent statement, the phrase emphasis being on _hurling_ and
_sport_, it would be accented _hérlya yugan guaryny_. If, however, we
wish to say that hurling is _our_ sport but football is _yours_ (_herlya
yu_ ’_gan gwary nŷ_, _mes pella-drôs yu_ ’_gas gwary whŷ_), the second
phrase-emphasis would be on _nŷ_ and _whŷ_, and they would be sounded as
the English words _nigh_ and _why_.
Sometimes the personal pronoun as a genitive following the noun, with or
without the preposition _a_, of, was used instead of a possessive
pronoun, but in this case it was probably not enclitic. Thus in a letter
in verse by John Boson, in the Gwavas MS., dated 1710, we find:—
_Ma goz screfa compaz_, _den fir o_ (for _a_) _vî_, your writing is
correct, my wise man, or, wise man of me.
And in a song by John Tonkin of St. Just in the same MS., the probable
date of which is about 1700, we find:—
_An Prounter ni ez en Plew East_, our parson who is in the parish of
St. Just.
Or perhaps more correctly in a copy of one verse of this song in the
Borlase MS.:—
_Prounter nei (ez_) _en pleu Est_,
for the article _an_ before a noun followed by an appositional genitive
seems incorrect, though one finds in the earliest known version of the
Lord’s Prayer, given in John Davies’s Welsh translation of Robert
Parsons’ _Booke of Christian Exercise_ (1632), _An Tas ni_, though this
may be a mistake for _agan_. In the song quoted above one finds also:—
_Dewe reffa sowia an eglez ni_, _Ha an prounterian da eze et an gy_, God
save our churches and the good parsons that are in them. And in Boson’s
version of the Commandments we find _gwitha gerrio ve_ for “keep my
commandments.”
§ 3. Pronominal Prepositions.
The prepositional form of the pronouns may be applied to almost any
preposition, but there are a certain number of common cases in which the
prepositions are modified by the composition, vowels being altered or
letters being inserted between the preposition and this fragmentary
pronoun, either for euphony or as survivals of archaic forms of the
preposition or pronoun. The most usual of these modified forms occur in
the composition of the prepositions _a_, of or from, _dre_, through,
_gans_, with, _dhŏrt_ (earlier _dheworth_ and _adheworth_, Welsh
_oddiwrth_), from, _orth_ (or _worth_), at, to, _rag_, for, _dhô_, to,
_war_, upon, _en_ or _idn_, in.
_ahanav_, from me. _dredhov_, through me.
_ahanas_, from thee. _dredhos_, through thee.
_anodho_, from him. _dredho_, through him.
_anedhi_, from her. _dredhi_, through her.
_ahanan_, from us. _dredhon_, through us.
_ahanough_, from you. _dredhough_, through you.
_anodhans_, from them. _dredhans_, through them.
Other instances are:—
_genev_, _dhortam_, _orthev_, _ragov_, _dhem_, _warnav_.
_genes_, _dhortas_, _orthes_, _ragos_, _dhes_, _warnas_.
_ganso_, _dhorto_, _orto_, _ragdho_, _dhôdho_, _warnodho_.
_gensi_, _dhorti_, _orti_, _ragdhi_, _dhedhi_, _warnedhi_.
_genen_, _dhorten_, _orthen_, _ragon_, _dhen_, _warnan_.
_genough_, _dhortough_, _orthough_, _ragough_, _dheugh_, _warnough_.
_gensans_, _dhortans_, _ortans_, _ragdhans_, _dhodhans_, _warnodhans_.
and—
_ennov_ or _idnov_ or _ettov_.
_ennos_ or _idnos_ or _ettos_.
_enno_ or _idno_ or _etto_.
_enni_ or _idni_ or _etti_.
_ennon_ or _idnon_ or _etton_.
_ennough_ or _idnough_ or _ettough_.
_ennans_ or _idnans_ or _ettans_.
There are many various spellings of these words in the manuscripts, and
especially there is great uncertainty as to the vowel which precedes the
pronominal suffix. As the accent is always on the preposition, the vowel
of the pronoun is usually obscure, and there is not so very much
difference of sound in the last syllables of _dredhov_, _genev_, and
_warnav_, but still there is a slight difference, and there must have
been even more in early days.
The older form of the third person plural ended in _e_ or _a_, _anedha_,
_dredha_, _ganse_, _orte_, _ragdha_, _dhedhe_, _warnedhe_, _ynna_; but
this form became obsolete by the middle of the seventeenth century, and
these pronominal prepositions were assimilated to the third person plural
of verbs. In this the Cornish began by resembling Breton and ended by
approaching more nearly to Welsh.
The pronominal preposition form of _dhô_ has variants for the first and
second persons singular and first person plural, _dhemmo_, to me,
_dheso_, _dheso dî_, to thee, and _dhenny_, to us. These are formed by
the addition of the personal pronoun in a fuller form. In the cases of
the other prepositions it is not uncommon to add the personal pronouns at
the end of the pronominal compound, forming thereby a single word with
the accent on the last syllable. Thus:—
_genev vî_, with me, pronounced _genavî_.
_genough whŷ_, with you, pronounced _genowhŷ_.
_ragon nŷ_, for us, pronounced _ragonŷ_.
In later Cornish these pronominal prepositions compounds were often
neglected, and the prepositions were often used with the second form of
the personal pronoun, but this was only a corrupt following of English,
not to be imitated.
§ 4. The Relative Pronoun.
1. A simple relative, who or which, whether in the nominative or
accusative, is represented most frequently by the particle _a_, governing
the second state of the verb. Thus:—
_An Tâs a wrîg Nêv_, the Father who made heaven.
_An Nêv a wrîg an Tâs e_, the Heaven which the Father made.
If the verb following the relative begins with a vowel, _a_ is often
omitted. Thus:—
_Ow thîs es genev_, my people who are with me.
If the relative sentence is negative, _ni_, not, coalesces with _a_,
producing _na_. Thus:—
_En le na vê dên bisqweth_, in a place in which man never was.
When the relative is the object of the verb, or is preceded in English by
a preposition, a redundant personal pronoun is added after the verb, with
or without a combined preposition, but a preposition is never placed
before the relative particle _a_ itself. Thus:—
_An dên a dhanvonas Dew e_, the man whom God sent (lit. whom God sent
him).
_An dên a vê an gêr cowses ganso_, the man by whom the word was spoken
(lit. whom the word was spoken by him).
2. _Neb_ (earlier _nep_, and in late Cornish sometimes _leb_) is also
used as a relative, with similar construction to that of _a_ in the
objective or prepositional condition. Properly it includes the
antecedent, and should mean _he who_, _those who_, _that which_, _those
whom_, etc., but it is commonly used as a simple relative, especially in
late Cornish. Thus:—
_Agan Tâs ny neb es en Nêv_, Our Father who art in heaven, in one of
the many extant versions of the Lord’s Prayer.
Another version is _Agan Tâs ny leb es en Nêv_.
_Dhe_ [_tî_] _nep yu ioy ow holon_, thou who art the joy of my heart
(_Res. Dom._, 456).
_An dên neb na’n gwrîg_, the man who did not do it.
_Neb yu moyha_, he who is greatest.
_An dên neb Dew a wrîg e dhanvon_, the man whom God did send.
_An dên neb an gêr a rê cowses ganso_, the man by whom the word was
spoken.
_Neb mî e wrîg ragdho_, for whom I did it (lit. whom I did it for him).
But, unlike _a_, _neb_ can have a preposition before it on occasions,
with or without the redundant pronoun. Thus:—
_Chŷ en neb na vê dên vîth_ (_enno_), a house in which no man was.
§ 5. The Demonstrative Pronouns.
1. Absolute. _Hem_, _hebma_ (orig. _hemma_), this, masculine; _hom_,
_hobma_ (_homma_), feminine.
_Hen_, _hedna_ (ong. _henna_), that, masculine; _hon_, _hodna_
(_honna_), feminine.
_An remma_ (=_an re-ma_) is used also for the plural _these_, _an
renna_ for _those_.
2. In agreement. _An_—_ma_, this, these, e.g. _an bês-ma_, this world.
_An_—_na_, that, those, e.g. _an dên-na_, that man.
The noun is placed between _an_ and _ma_ or _na_, the latter being joined
to it by a hyphen. In some cases when the noun ends in a vowel the _m_
of _ma_ is doubled, and the noun and demonstrative are written as one
word:—
_an dremma_, this town (for _an dre-ma_); _an chymma_, this house (for
_an chŷ-ma_); _alemma_, hence (for _a le-ma_), from this place.
The same applies to the _n_ of _na_.
When the noun is preceded by a preposition, _an_ is omitted: _war
venedh-ma_, on this mountain, not _war an menedh-ma_.
For emphasis, _keth_ (same) is added after _an_: _an keth dên-ma_, this
very man, this same man.
In very late Cornish, _hebma_, _hobma_, _hedna_, _hodna_ were often
corrupted into _hebba_, _hobba_, _hedda_, _hodda_.
In the _Life of St_._ Meriasek_, _helma_ and _holma_ are used for _this_,
and it is easy to imagine _helna_ and _holna_ for _that_. The
explanation suggested in Dr. Whitley Stokes’s note is “_helma_=_hen
lemma_, this in this place.” Cf. “this here” and “that there” of vulgar
English.
§ 6. The Interrogative Pronouns.
_Pyu_ or _pyua_ (written also _pu_, _piwa_, _pew_), who? A contraction
of _pe yu_, who is? or, _pe yu a_, who is it who?
_Pa_, what?
_Pandra_ (i.e. _pa an dra_, what the thing), what? e g. _pandra
vednough why gwîl_, what will you do?
_Panin_ (i.e. _pa an in_, which the one), whether of them?
_Penîl_ (i.e. _pa nîl_, which of the two), which one?
§ 7. The Indefinite Pronouns.
_Nep_, _neb_, some or any.
_Neppeth_, somewhat (_neb peth_, some thing), anything.
_Nebin_ (_neb idn_), some one.
_Nebas_, somewhat, a little, a few; also used to signify little, few, or
hardly any.
_Pyupennak_ (sometimes _bennak_), whoever.
_Pa_ (or _pandra_) _pennak_, whatever.
_Papennak ŏl_, whatsoever.
_Ketep_, every.
_Kenifer_, each; _kenifer ŏl_, every one, as many as there are. Lhuyd
gives a very emphatic form, _pebs kenifer ŏnen_, which would mean “every
single one.”
_Pŭb_ or _peb_, all, every. Placed before the noun. _Pŭb dên_, every
man.
_Ŏl_ (or _ŭl_), all. Placed before or after the noun. When placed
before the noun the latter is preceded by _an_: _ŏl an dîs_, all the
people.
_Bîth_ or _vîth_, any; _travîth_, anything; _dên vîth_, any man. With
negatives it signifies _at all_; _ni wôr dên vîth_, no man at all
knoweth; _nynsyw travîth_, there is nothing at all.
_Mens_ (earlier _myns_), all, whatever; _ŏl mens o_, all that there was;
_cowsens dên mens a vedn_, let a man say all that he will. It is
generally used as a relative combined with the antecedent “all,” but is
also used without an expressed verb to follow it, though in such case
probably the verb substantive is understood.
_Kemmes_, _kebmes_, as many as, whosoever; _kemmes a wrîg bodh ow Thas_,
as many as have done the will of my Father.
_Nîl_ or _an nîl_ and _e gîla_ (formerly _nyl_ and _y gyle_) signify “the
one” and “the other.” _Nîl_, originally _an ail_, the second, a word
which, except in this case, has dropped out of Cornish in favour of
_secund_ and _nessa_ (=the next), though it remains in Welsh and Breton,
signifies “one of two”; _e gîla_ (once _y gyle_ or _y gele_) literally
signifies “his fellow,” from _e_, his, and _kîla_ (formerly _kyle_),
fellow, companion. Thus:—
_Voz_ [_bes_] _an Frenkock feen parrez tho_ [_dhó_] _cummeraz telhar wara
niel_ [_war an nîl_] _ha an sousenack nobla war e gilla_, for the fine
French seems to take place upon the one [_i_._e_. on Breton] and the
nobler English on the other [_i_._e_. Cornish] (from _Nebbaz Gerriau dro
tho Carnoack_, by John Boson, _circ_. 1700).
The same expression occurs in the early Dramas, e.g. _an nyl a delle pymp
cans_, _ha hanter cans y gyle_, the one owed five hundred and half a
hundred the other.
_Aral_, other, plural _erel_, is sometimes used for _e gîla_. It is the
usual word for _other_ or _another_: _dên aral_, another man.
Another form occasionally used in Cornish for either gender, though in
Breton it is only used for the regular feminine of _e gîla_ (_e gile_) is
_eben_, older form _yben_:—
_Heys Crist a gemeras a’n neyll lêf bys yn yben_ (_Poem of Passion_,
178), the length of Christ they took from one hand to the other.
_Ken_ is also used for _another_:—
_Dhe ken pow_, to another country; _yn ken lyu_, in another colour.
_Nanîl_, neither one, neither of two; it is _nîl_ with the negative, and
is sometimes written _noniel_. Boson uses it in a peculiar way:—
_Nanagu_ [_na nag yu_] _an pobel coth tho bose skoothez_, _war noniel_,
nor are the old people to be depended upon neither.
_Panîl_, “which of two” (see above), is compounded with _pa_, which, and
_nîl_.
_Lîas_, many, is used, like a numeral, with a substantive in the
singular: _lîas dôrn_, many hands.
_Re_, some (see § 5), “ones,” “things,” is used also as a noun: _an re
marow_, the dead; _an re bîan_, the little ones; _ma re a lavar_, there
are some who say. Cf. Welsh _rhai_; Breton _re_.
_Radn_ or _ran_, part, is also used in the sense of “some.”
_Honan_, self, is used with possessive pronouns as in English: _ow
honan_, myself; _dha honan_, thyself, &c.