174 Ukrainian: A Comprehensive Grammar actually expressed, even though the verbal non-past endings make it absolutely clear, if only for the first- and second-persons singular, who the subject is. Perhaps the pronouns are expressed because this does not work for the third person and not entirely for the first- and second-persons plural, and because of the need, but not obligation, for the subject pronouns to be expressed in the past tense, conditional mood, and passive forms. In informal speech these pronouns are more readily dropped, and in any event would certainly be dropped in a string of verbs with an identical subject, as in English: Я сиджу та читаю 'І sit and read'. On the question of address, we note that ти is used to address a single addressee who is a close friend, a child, an animal, or God. Ви is used for all plural addressees, or in singular address where politeness or formality is appropriate. Here is a full paradigm for the personal pronouns: N. G. D. A. I. L. N. G. D. A. I. L. I(lsg.) я мене мені мене мною мені We(lpl) ми нас нам нас нами нас You (2sg.) ти тебе тобі' тебе тобою тобі You(2pl) Ви Вас Вам Вас Вами Вас Helit It він воно його/нього йому його/нього ним ньому (нім) Пеу(Зрі) вони їх/них їм їх/них ними них н. р. Д- 3. о. м. She/it (3sg.) вона її/неї їй її/неї нею НІЙ н. р. д. 3. О. М. There are no strict rules on the position of personal pronouns. The subject pronoun will certainly normally come before the verb, any other position being emphatic or at least stylistically marked. The object pronoun may come after the verb or before it. Needless to say, a pronoun will be fixed in relation to a governing preposition: Я їх не знаю or Я не знаю їх. І don't know them. (Both relatively neutral.) Він їм ничого не сказав, or Він нічого не сказав їм. Не didn't say a thing to them. (Both relatively neutral.) До них вона послала дочку. They were sent her daughter, (lit. 'She sent (her) daughter to them.') (It is not possible to separate до and них.)
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