Page:A simplified grammar of the Swedish language.djvu/67

Rh The second person du, while used in prayer, and between the nearest relatives much the same in Swedish as in German, is not unfrequently superseded between parents and children and near relatives by the name or designation of the individual addressed; as, Vil Anna ha rosen? 'Will you have the rose, Anna?' Har Pappa sin pihe? 'Have you got your pipe, papa?'

Ni is commonly used in narratives, novels, etc., to express the term 'you' in conversations between two persons, and it is used in correspondence between acquaintances, but it has not been very generally accepted as a mode of social address. Er, eder, are still more commonly used than ni in epistolary and social intercourse. More frequently than either of these simple forms of the personal pronoun, the title or name of the individual addressed is used with the third person of the verb; as, Grefven befinner sig icke väl i dag? 'Are you not well to-day. Count?' Fruen såg mig i går? 'Did you not see me yesterday, madam (or Mrs. —)?' Ja visst, jag såg herren, 'Yes, certainly I saw you, sir (or Mr. —);' Har doktoren varit i Stockholm? 'Have you been in Stockholm, Doctor?'

The pronouns han, 'he,' hon, 'she,' are still occasionally used in addressing inferiors, but ni is more frequently used by masters and employers to those in their service.

Ni has been derived from the terminal letter n of the second person plural of verbs, and the pronoun i, 'you' or 'ye;' as tron i, 'believe ye,' corrupted into tro ni.

Min herr is used as 'sir,' mine herrar, as 'gentlemen.' Herrskapet, 'master and mistress,' is often used to include