Taking a new look at Cornish grammar 19 (object pronouns)

We have seen that personal pronouns can be used as the subject of a sentence, whether the verb is transitive or intransitive. And we have seen that the form of some pronouns varies depending on whether they come before or after the verb. Since there is no neutral pronoun in Cornish ev/va and hei can both mean “it” according to context. Here is a reminder:

Me a welas kei gwydn y vlew.	I saw a dog with white hair.
Thera vy o scrifa en üskis.	I am writing quickly.
Che a dheuth de.	You came yesterday.
Thesta o redya lever da.	You are reading a good book.
Ev a wra danon lether.	He will send a letter
Ma va o moas lebmyn.	He/it is going now.
Hei a wrüg scrifa an lever na.	She wrote that book.
Ma hei o toas tre.	She/it is coming home.
Nei a wary peldroos war an Sadorn.	We play football on Saturdays.
Thera nei o madra Kernowek.	We are studying Cornish.
Whei a wra desky an tavas.	You will learn the language (tongue)
Thero whei o redya geryow.	You are reading words.
Anjei eth tre de.	They went home yesterday.
Ma anjei (Mons) ena lebmyn.	They are there now.

We have seen that personal pronouns can be indirect objects when allied to a preposition. Here is a reminder of some:

Ev a wras tesen ragam. (or Ev a wras tesen dhebm.)[1]	He made (for) me a cake. (He made (to) me a cake.)
Ev a wrüg danon lether dhis.	He sent (to) you a letter.
Ma hei o scrifa carten dhodho.	She is writing (to) him a card.
Ma hei o tanon frauk dhedhy.	She is sending (to) her a jumper.
Anjei a wras neppeth ragon. (or Anjei a wras neppeth dhen.)	They made (for) us something. (They made (to) us something.)
Thero vy o cül hebma ragowgh. (or Thero vy o cül hebma dhewgh.)	I am making (for) you this. I am making (to) you this.
Whei a wra gwil hedna ragtans.	You will do that for them.

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[1]  Gendall recommends using “dhe” with indirect objects.

Personal pronouns can also be used as direct objects of transitive verbs. There are two versions, depending on where they come in relation to the verb. They also vary in emphasis. Unlike English, where we tend to stress words with the power of our voice (or underline them in text), in Cornish we have the luxury of choosing which form to use.

First let’s look at the more emphatic, more familiar forms:

An gwenen a wrüg pigas vy.	The bee stung me.
Otta che! (exclamation)[1]	Behold you. (There you are!)
Me a welas ev de.	I saw him/it yesterday.
Ma va o liftya hei.[2]	He/it is lifting her.
Anjei a wrüg dowes nei.	They chose us.
Thero nei o whilas whei.[3]	We are seeking (looking for) you.
Ma limner o liwya anjei.[4]	An artist is painting them.

Here are the new forms, mostly used with simple verb tense which have the verbal particle a (e.g. the preterite, the present-future). They are described as “infixed” because they slot in between the particle and the verb. (Sometimes the apostrophe may be left out.) There are lots of examples from the old texts (some more useful than others!).

Whei a’m gwel arta.	You’ll see me again.
Me a’th car.	I love you.
Whei oll a’n gwel scon.	You’ll all see him soon.
Me a’s danon.	I’ll send her.
Ev a’gan kebmer.	He takes us.
Me a’gas clout...	I’ll hit you...
Hei a’s cav.	She’ll have them.

There are some more versions but we will come to them later.

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[1]  Any of the personal pronouns can be used with otta, as an exclamation. Similar to French “Me voici”, “Te voila”, etc.
[2] Williams has an alternative construction: Ma va orth hy liftya. (He is at her lifting). This will be explained later.
[3] Similarly: Thero nei orth agas whilas. (We are at your seeking.)
[4] Also: Ma limner orth aga liwya. (An artist is at their painting.)