Russian Pronouns

What are Russian pronouns, and do we really need them? Essentially, our vocabulary would be much poorer without pronouns that act as direct substitutes for nouns.

Are you eager to find out more about Russian pronouns? Grab a nice cup of coffee, sit back, and get ready to learn all of them – conveniently in one place!

What Are Pronouns?

Pronouns are words used instead of nouns. Why complicate things? Why not just repeat the nouns? Consider this: using the same word over and over again raises certain questions about the speaker.

If that sounded convincing enough, there are several types of pronouns in the Russian language, each of them declining according to the context.

Types of Russian Pronouns

There are six most common types of Russian pronouns: personal, possessive, reflexive, demonstrative, determinative, and interrogative. It’s also worth noting that each pronoun type comes in singular and plural form.

Here’s what you need to note well about the different types of Russian pronouns.

Personal pronouns

There are no special rules for personal pronouns, i.e., I, you, he/she/it, we, you, they. Here’s an example to get the general idea:

Как бы вы назвали его? - What would you call it?

Кто они? - Who are they?

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns indicate who something belongs to.

Вот моё мнение об этом. - Here’s my opinion on the matter.

Reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns include “себя” (“self”), “свой” (“one’s own”), and “сам” (“on one’s own”).

“Себя” is used when the pronoun is the same person or thing as the subject.

Она говорит только о себе! - She only talks about herself!

“Свой” replaces the normal possessive pronoun when it refers to the subject.

Она обожает свою кошку. - She adores her (own) cat.

“Сам” is simply used to emphasize that something is done on one’s own.

Мы всегда всё делаем сами. - We always do everything on our own.

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are commonly used when you are somehow indicating with a gesture what you are talking about.

Тебе нужен этот предмет? - Do you need this item?

Determinative pronouns

Determinative pronouns are used to emphasize nouns and pronouns, thus defining one or more objects in a class of similar ones.

Весь мир твой! - The whole world is yours!

Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions, such as what and who.

О чём это ты? - What are you talking about?

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Declension of Russian Pronouns

Declension dominates the Russian language, and pronouns are no exception. If you’re interested in learning more about Russian declension, give our popular comprehensive guide a thorough read!

Below, you will find Russian pronoun charts, divided into the types of pronouns and singular/plural forms.

Russian Personal Pronouns

Singular Personal Pronouns: I, You, He, She, It

Plural Personal Pronouns: We, You, They

Russian Possessive Pronouns

Singular Possessive Pronouns: My, Your

1st Person - My

2nd Person - Your

NB: As for the third person, regardless of the case of the noun modified, always use “его” (if it is his/its) or “её” (if it is her).

Plural Possessive Pronouns: Our, Your

1st Person - Our

2nd Person - Your

NB: When it comes to the third person plural, use “их” regardless of the gender and case of the noun modified.

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Russian Reflexive Pronouns

Myself, Himself, Herself, Itself

One’s Own

On One’s Own

Russian Demonstrative Pronouns: This, That

This

That

Russian Determinative Pronouns: All

Russian Interrogative Pronouns: What, Who

What

Who

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