In addition to possessive suffixes for nouns and pronominal prefixes for verbs, there is a set of ten pronouns which are independent words.

jIH I, me maH we, us
SoH you tlhIH you (plural)
ghaH he/she, him/her chaH they, them
'oH it bIH they, them
'e' that  
net that  

The pronoun chaH they is used when it refers to a group of beings capable of using language; otherwise, bIH they is used. The pronouns 'e' and net are used only in special sentence constructions (see section 6.2.5).

There is no grammatical gender in Klingon. Third-person singular pronouns can be translated he or she as context dictates.

Pronouns may be used as nouns, but only for emphasis or added clarity. They are not required. Thus, the following sets of sentences are all grammatically correct.

yaS vIlegh jIH I see the officers.

yaS vIlegh

jIH mulegh yaS The officer sees me.

mulegh yaS

ghaH vIlegh jIH I see him/her.

ghaH vIlegh

vIlegh jIH


(yaS officer, vIlegh I see him/her, mulegh he/she sees me)


The final two sentences (vIlegh jIH, vIlegh) are in fact ambiguous. They could equally well mean I see them. (The verb prefix vI- is either I--him/her or I--them.) If context does not make it clear which meaning is intended, pronouns can be used:

ghaH vIlegh I see him/her.

chaH vIlegh I see them.

Pronouns are not used in possessive constructions in the way nouns are; instead, the set of possessive noun suffixes is used (section 3.3.4).

There is no verb corresponding to English to be in Klingon. On the other hand, all pronouns can be used as verbs, in the sense of I am, you are, etc.

yaS SoH You are an officer.

puqpu' chaH They are children.

The pronoun always follows the noun. Similarly, there is no verb corresponding to to be in the sense of "to be at a place". Again, the pronouns are used, followed, where appropriate, by verbal suffixes.

pa'wIjDaq jIHtaH I am in my quarters.

(pa'wIjDaq in my room, jIH I, -taH continuous)

In the above examples, the subjects are pronouns. If the subject is a noun, it follows the third-person pronoun (ghaH he/she, 'oH it, chaH they, bIH they) and takes the -'e' topic suffix.

puqpu' chaH qama'pu"e' The prisoners are children.

pa'DajDaq ghaHtaH la"e' The commander is in his quarters.

These sentences might also be translated As for the prisoners, they are children; As for the commander, he is in his quarters.