Loprieno hypothesizes development from an earlier form *-ina.[1] In any case, perhaps ultimately from a form such as Proto-Afroasiatic*ˀan-(first-person pronoun (plural exclusive?)); compare Iraqw-ni, Arabicـنَا(-nā).
This form of pronoun attaches directly to the preceding word, and means different things depending on what it is attached to.
When attached to a noun, it indicates the possessor of the noun.
When attached to a verb of the suffix conjugation, it indicates the subject of the verb.
When attached to an infinitive verb (especially of an intransitive verb) whose subject is not otherwise expressed, it indicates the subject of the verb.
When attached to a transitive infinitive verb whose subject is otherwise expressed or omitted, it indicates the object of the verb.
In the third person, when attached to a prospective participle, it indicates gender and number agreement.
When attached to a particle like jw or a parenthetic like ḫr, it indicates the subject of the clause.
When attached to a preposition, it indicates the object of the preposition.
When it follows a relative adjective such as ntj or ntt, it indicates the subject of the relative clause (except in the first person singular and third person common).
In Late Egyptian, the presence of this pronoun results in the retention of final -t when the word it is attached to ends in this consonant; this is as a rule expressed by adding
James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 50, 227.
Junge, Friedrich (2005) Late Egyptian Grammar: An Introduction, second English edition, Oxford: Griffith Institute, pages 52, 66
Werning, Daniel A. (2008) “Aspect vs. Relative Tense, and the Typological Classification of the Ancient Egyptian sḏm.n⸗f” in Lingua Aegyptia 16, pages 261–292
↑ 1.01.1Loprieno, Antonio (1995) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 64
