Re: Fourth Person

On Sun, 4 Oct 1998, Nik Taylor wrote:

> In English, it's merely another third-person pronoun, "third-person
> indefinite" if you prefer.  If English had a "fourth person", there
> could be a "third person indefinite" and a "fourth person indefinite".
> Personally, I prefer the term "obviate", since "fourth person" sounds
> somehow unreal, like a "first person singular *inclusive*" ("I including
> you")
        Since y'all are arguing about 4th person, and since Aelya has a
fourth person, here's some quick notes:
        third person has four forms in the singular: masc, fem,
indefinite, and inanimate.
        Fourth person is used to refer to a previously identified 3d
person, while third is used for newer individuals.

        Clinton