Editing Proto-Semitic language (section)

===Pronouns===
Like most of its daughter languages, Proto-Semitic has one free pronoun set, and case-marked bound sets of enclitic pronouns. Genitive case and accusative case are only distinguished in the first person.{{sfnp|Huehnergard|2008|p=237|ps=; Huehnergard's phonetic transcription is changed to traditional symbols here.}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Proto-Semitic pronouns
! rowspan=2 |
! rowspan=2 | independent<br/>nominative
! colspan=3 | enclitic
|-
! nominative
! genitive
! accusative
|-
! 1.sg.
| {{hamza}}anā̆/{{hamza}}anākū̆
| -kū̆
| -ī/-ya
| -nī
|-
! 2.sg.masc.
| {{hamza}}antā̆
| -tā̆
| style=text-align:center colspan=2| -kā̆
|-
! 2.sg.fem.
| {{hamza}}antī̆
| -tī̆
| style=text-align:center colspan=2| -kī̆
|-
! 3.sg.masc.
| šu{{hamza}}a
| -a
| style=text-align:center colspan=2| -šū̆
|-
! 3.sg.fem.
| ši{{hamza}}a
| -at
| style=text-align:center colspan=2| -šā̆/-šī̆
|-
! colspan=5|
|-
! 1.du.
| ?
| -nuyā ?
| -niyā ?
| -nayā ?
|-
! 2.du.
| {{hamza}}antumā
| -tumā
| style=text-align:center colspan=2| -kumā/-kumay
|-
! 3.du.
| šumā
| -ā
| style=text-align:center colspan=2| -šumā/-šumay
|-
! colspan=5|
|-
! 1.pl.
| niḥnū̆
| -nū̆
| -nī̆
| -nā̆
|-
! 2.pl.masc.
| {{hamza}}antum
| -tum
| style=text-align:center colspan=2| -kum
|-
! 2.pl.fem.
| {{hamza}}antin
| -tin
| style=text-align:center colspan=2| -kin
|-
! 3.pl.masc.
| šum/šumū
| -ū
| style=text-align:center colspan=2| -šum
|-
! 3.pl.fem.
| šin/šinnā
| -ā
| style=text-align:center colspan=2| -šin
|}
For many pronouns, the final vowel is reconstructed with long and short positional variants; this is conventionally indicated by a combined macron and breve on the vowel (e.g. ''ā̆'').

The Semitic [[demonstrative pronoun]]s are usually divided into two series: those showing a relatively close object and those showing a more distant one.<ref>{{cite book|author=Lipiński E.|title=Semitic languages:Outline of a Comparative Grammar|place=Leuven|publisher=Peeters|year=1997|pages=315|isbn=90-6831-939-6}}</ref> Nonetheless, it is very difficult to reconstruct Proto-Semitic forms on the basis of the demonstratives of the individual Semitic languages.<ref>{{cite book|author=Moscati S., Spitaler A., Ullendorff E., von Soden W.|title=An Introduction to the Comparative Grammar of the Semitic Languages| place=Wiesbaden|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz|year=1980|pages=112|isbn=}}</ref>

A series of interrogative pronouns are reconstructed for Proto-Semitic: ''*man'' ‘who’, ''*mā'' ‘what’ and ''*’ayyu'' ‘of what kind’ (derived from ''*’ay'' ‘where’).<ref>{{cite book|author=Moscati S., Spitaler A., Ullendorff E., von Soden W.|title=An Introduction to the Comparative Grammar of the Semitic Languages| place=Wiesbaden|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz|year=1980|pages=114–115|isbn=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Lipiński E.|title=Semitic languages:Outline of a Comparative Grammar|place=Leuven|publisher=Peeters|year=1997|pages=328–329|isbn=90-6831-939-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Huehnergard J.|title=The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia|chapter=Afro-Asiatic|place=New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008|pages=238|isbn=978-0-511-39338-9}}</ref>