Lesson 16: Possessive Pronouns

Three Ways to Express Possession in Sindarin

Sindarin offers three grammatically distinct strategies for expressing possession or belonging:

Possessive suffixes — short endings attached directly to the possessed noun: guren = "my heart" (gûr + -en)
Independent possessive pronouns — stand-alone words placed after the noun: i gûr nín = "the heart of mine" / "my heart" (emphasized)
Genitive construction with en — the particle en (of) links two nouns: i gûr en aran = "the heart of the king"

Each strategy has its preferred domain. Understanding when to use which is as important as knowing the forms themselves.

Possessive Suffixes

Possessive suffixes attach directly to the end of the possessed noun. The noun may undergo slight phonological adjustment at the junction.

Person	Suffix	Variant	Example	Translation
1st sg. (my)	-en	-(n)in	guren	my heart (gûr + -en)
2nd sg. familiar (thy)	-eg	-leg	ioneg	thy son (ion + -eg)
2nd sg. polite (your)	-el	-lel	melel	your friend?
3rd sg. masc. (his)	-o	-no	melono	his friend?
3rd sg. fem. (her)	-es	-nes	melones	her friend?
1st pl. incl. (our)	-en	-wen	gurenwen	our heart
1st pl. excl. (our)	-nc	-wnc	—	our (exclusive)
3rd pl. (their)	-ent	-nt	—	their

Note on attestation: Only the 1st singular suffix is firmly attested in Tolkien's texts. The other forms are reconstructed from various Tolkien notes (especially from the Etymologies and grammatical essays in Parma Eldalamberon and Vinyar Tengwar) and should be understood as belonging partly to the Neo-Sindarin scholarly reconstruction tradition.

Phonological Adjustments

When a possessive suffix is added:

If the noun ends in a consonant, the suffix is added directly: gûr + -en → guren (the long vowel û shortens to u because it is now in a non-final, unstressed syllable: the suffix adds a new final syllable)
If the noun ends in a vowel, the liaison form (-n-) may be used: na- (this one) → nanen?
Final -a of A-stem words interacts with suffixes; the exact behavior is reconstructed

1st Singular: -en and -(n)in

Two variants are attested or reconstructed for "my":

-en: the simpler form, attached to consonant-final nouns: gûr → guren (my heart)
-(n)in: a longer form seen in some noun types; also appears as -nin in certain environments

Attested: guren — from Tolkien's poem A Elbereth Gilthoniel (the version in The Road Goes Ever On):

Guren bêd enni "My heart tells me" — literally "my-heart says to-me"

guren = gûr (heart, will) + -en (my) — the final vowel of the possessive merges with the stem
bêd = says, tells (3rd sg. present of ped-)
enni = to me (dative an + pronoun ni)

Independent Possessive Pronouns

When possession needs to be emphasized or when the possessive pronoun stands without an immediately preceding noun (predicative use), independent possessive forms are used.

Person	Independent Form	Translation	Usage
1st sg.	nín	mine, my (emphatic)	I gûr nín = the heart (that is) mine
2nd sg.	lín	thine, your	I gûr lín = your heart
3rd sg.	tîn	his/hers/its	I gûr tîn = his/her heart
1st pl.	mín	ours	I gûr mín = our heart
3rd pl.	hín	theirs	I gûr hín = their heart

These forms are placed after the noun (consistent with Sindarin's post-nominal modifier order).

Contrast suffix vs. independent:

guren = my heart (suffix, neutral statement)
i gûr nín = the heart [that is] mine (independent, emphatic or contrastive)

Attested: i·Mbair Annui — Possessive in Place Names

The phrase i·Mbair Annui ("the Western Lands" / "the Western Homes") demonstrates possessive-like genitival constructions in Tolkien's writing:

i·Mbair = the homes/lands (plural of bâr, with the plural article in triggering nasal mutation: b→m, giving Mbair)
Annui = western (adjective from annûn "west")
No en particle is needed here; the adjective directly modifies the noun
This is attributive use, not genitive: "the western homes" = homes [that are] western

For possessive/genitive "homes of the elves," one would use: i·Mbair en Edhil = the homes of the elves.

The Genitive en: Expressing Possession and Relationship

The particle en (of, genitive) is used when one noun possesses or is associated with another noun. It triggers soft mutation on the following noun.

Formation

Structure: [possessed noun] en [possessor noun]

Phrase	Analysis	Mutation	Translation
i gûr en aran	heart of the king	aran: vowel, no mut.	the heart of the king
i barad en Gondor	tower of Gondor	G: vowel, no mut.	the tower of Gondor
ennyn en aran	doors of the king	vowel	the king's doors
i aran en dôr	king of the land	d→dh: en dhôr	the king of the land
i thiw en Celebrimbor	signs of Celebrimbor	vowel	the signs of Celebrimbor
i gûr en barad	heart of the tower	b→v: en varad	the heart of the tower (poetic)
mellyn en aran	friends of the king	vowel	the king's friends

Attested: Celebrimbor o Eregion teithant i thiw hin = "Celebrimbor of Eregion drew these signs" — the o here is the preposition "from/of" not the genitive en, but the phrase illustrates how Tolkien expressed relationships between nouns.

en with Plural Nouns

When the possessed noun is plural, the structure remains the same:

edhil en dôr = "elves of the land" (the land's elves)
meraid en aran = "towers of the king" (the plural meraid is the base form, then en follows)

The possessor noun after en undergoes soft mutation if its initial consonant is mutable:

en + dôr → en dhôr (d→dh)
en + barad → en varad (b→v)
en + mellon → en vellon (m→v)
en + Gondor → en Ngondor? or en Gondor (G is a voiced stop; soft mutation would give 'ondor, nasal gives Ngondor; en here triggers soft: en 'ondor with g-loss)

Comparison: When to Use Each Strategy

Situation	Preferred Strategy	Example
Body part + body-owner	Possessive suffix	guren (my heart)
Object + pronoun owner	Possessive suffix	ioneg (your son)
Emphasized or contrastive possession	Independent possessive	i gûr nín (MY heart)
Noun + proper-name owner	Genitive en	i barad en Gondor
Noun + common noun owner	Genitive en	i gûr en aran
Predicative possession ("it is mine")	Independent possessive	Nâ nín (it is mine)

The suffix strategy is intimate and typical for things inherently associated with a person (body parts, kinship terms, personal possessions). The genitive en is more neutral and appropriate for abstract relationships or named entities.

Possessive Suffixes in Poetry and Song

Tolkien's Sindarin poetry makes heavy use of possessive suffixes, particularly the 1st singular. The suffix creates a compact, intimate tone appropriate for lyric verse.

From A Elbereth Gilthoniel:

Guren bêd enni = "My heart speaks to me"

From various Tolkien drafts:

ioneg = "thy son" (vocative or possessive) — ion (son) + -eg (thy)
hiril nín = "my lady" — hiril (lady) + nín (mine/my, independent form used attributively)

Note: hiril nín uses the independent form nín rather than a suffix; this creates the meaning "lady who is mine" = my lady. Both suffix and independent form can express "my + noun" but with subtly different nuance.

Practice: Eight Possessive Sentences

Translate into Sindarin using the most appropriate possessive strategy:

"My friend" (neutral statement)
"The king's tower" (genitive)
"Your heart" (familiar "thy")
"The trees of the land" (genitive)
"My eyes" (possessive suffix — cên "sight/eyes")
"The heart [that is] mine" (emphatic)
"The doors of the king" (genitive)
"Their friends" (possessive)

Answers:

mellonen — mellon (friend) + -en (my)
i varad en aran — barad lenited by i to varad, en + aran (vowel, no change)
gureg — gûr (heart) + -eg (thy familiar)
gelaidh en dhôr — gelaidh (trees, pl.) + en + dôr → dhôr (d→dh)
cenen — cên + -en (my)
i gûr nín — i (the) + gûr (heart) + nín (mine, independent)
ennyn en aran — ennyn (doors, pl.) + en + aran (vowel, no mutation)
mellyn hín — mellyn (friends, pl.) + hín (their, independent possessive)