ABSTRACT
Personal pronouns are the only items in Cantonese with distinct plural forms, regularly formed by adding the suffix –deih. The pronouns have a single form for subject or object. There are no separate forms for the genitive (possessive) pronouns corresponding to the English my I mine, your I yours, and their I theirs. There is no gender distinction between he, she and it in either spoken or written Cantonese whereas in written Mandarin, male and female ta take different radicals. The first person pronoun ngoh is therefore often heard as oh, usually with a glottal stop before the vowel. To express the genitive/possessive relation, the linking particle ge is often used between the pronoun and the possessed entity. Pronouns which occur in the relativized positions in relative clauses are known as resumptive pronouns. The reflexive pronoun jihgei is invariable in form, serving all persons.
