When using old pronouns (thee, thou, thy etc.) which ones follow prepositions?

Kommentare

• u/SerDankTheTall·1·31.07.2026, 20:00

  *Thou* is the subjective form (equivalent of third person *he* or *she* or first person *I*). *Thee* is the objective form (equivalent of third person *him* or *her* or first person *me*). *Thy* is the possessive form (equivalent of third person *his* or *her* or first person *my*).

  • u/IscahRambles·1·31.07.2026, 20:15

    The easy way to remember it is that *thy* matches *my* and *thee* matches *me*. If text is old-fashioned enough to be using *thou* then it may have an additional use for thine/mine besides the one we still use today – if thy/my is followed by a word starting with a vowel sound then an "n" sound is added in the middle (same as we still turn *a* into *an*) and that will be spelt thine/mine. 

    • u/GayDrWhoNut·1·31.07.2026, 20:29

• u/Mysterious_Debt4959·1·31.07.2026, 20:01

  Thy is possessive. Thou is for a subject. Thee is for an object. So you would say “Thou walked down the street” and “Mary gave thee a donut” and “Thy donut is on the counter”

  • u/Norwester77·1·31.07.2026, 20:07

    \*Thou walkedst Otherwise, correct.

    • u/Cold-Jackfruit1076·1·31.07.2026, 20:22·1 Antwort

  • u/timildeeps·1·31.07.2026, 20:55

    Thine donut..

• u/Narrow-Durian4837·6·31.07.2026, 20:02

  I'm no expert, so somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is: "Thou" is subjective, like "I" or "he" or "they": it's used for the subject of a sentence or clause. "Thee" is objective, like "me" or "him" or "them": it's used for a direct object or object of a preposition. "Thy"and "thine" are possessive, like "my" and "mine."

  • u/God_Bless_A_Merkin·2·31.07.2026, 20:08

    This is the most specific and concise answer. It really isn’t terribly difficult, so I really hate it when I see fantasy authors misusing these. (“Eragon” springs immediately to mind.)

• u/Cold-Jackfruit1076·3·31.07.2026, 20:26

  Thou is the subject, thee is the object, as demonstrated in a line from *Richard III:* *'Courageous Richmond, well hast thou acquit thee.'* The modern translation is: "Courageous Richmond, you have acquitted yourself well."

• u/AlexanderHamilton04·2·31.07.2026, 23:42

  [Originally, these were very familiar, informal words used with close friends, family, or someone "below" you in social status (with "ye, you, your, yours, etc." being more formal and used in public settings, even with "equal" peers).]

  [1] Thou (subject):

  "Thou hast done well this morning, my child."

  ("Thou" is the subject performing the action.)

  [2] Thee (object):

  "I give my heart entirely unto thee."

  ("Thee" is the object receiving the action.)

  [3] Thy (Possessive Determiner before Consonants):

  "Show me the way to thy house."

  ("Thy" before "house" that begins with a consonant sound.)

  [4] Thine (Possessive Determiner before Vowels):

  "Keep thine eyes upon the hills."

  ("Thine" before "eyes" that begins with a vowel sound.)

  [5] Thine (Possessive Pronoun):

  "Take this spade, for it is thine."

  ("Thine," like "yours," stands alone as an absolute possessive at the end of a clause, without needing [the thing being possessed].)

  [6] Thyself (Reflexive):

  "Go rest, and take better care of thyself."

  (When "thou" is performing an action upon "thyself".)

  ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

  (1) "Thou hast done well this morning, my child."

  (2) "I give my heart entirely unto thee."

  (3) "Show me the way to thy house."

  (4) "Keep thine eyes upon the hills."

  (5) "Take this spade, for it is thine."

  (6) "Go rest, and take better care of thyself."

  • u/AlexanderHamilton04·1·01.08.2026, 01:10

    (Hypothetical scenario between two nobleman peers around 1550):

    In public at court (formal):

    Lord Henry: Did ye see the Kynges decree this mornyng, Lord Thomas?

    Lord Thomas: I dyd, and I agree with your iudgment of yt.

    Later, drinking alone at a tavern (intimate):

    Lord Henry: Tell me truly, Thomas, what is thy reall opinion on the matter?

    Lord Thomas: I tell thee frende, I thynke the Kynge hath lost his mynde.

    • u/AlexanderHamilton04·1·01.08.2026, 12:36

    • u/AlexanderHamilton04·1·01.08.2026, 12:42

  • u/Anakyria·1·01.08.2026, 14:48

    Not enough upvotes in the world for this -- !

• u/[deleted]·1·01.08.2026, 15:27

  [removed]

• u/nikstick22·1·01.08.2026, 16:29

  Thou/thee is the same distinction as I/me Thou saw me/I saw thee Thine was used poetically in places where you might otherwise use thy, but if you want an easy rule to follow, it mirrors my/mine: This is my car/that is thy car This car is mine/that car is thine. Thou and thee were always used in the singular. Originally, you/ye was exclusively plural. It became considered polite and less intimate to refer to a single person as you instead of thou, and some late records show people being offended when called thou by strangers, so its use fell over time. Certain dialects in Cumbria retained a form of thou into the 20th century, but it had reduced to th' by that time.