IT

(impersonal 3rd sg. pronoun – notice that “personal” forms are used of all living things including plants; see HE): As a pronominal suffix, the entire 3rd person singular “he, she it” is expressed by the ending -s , e.g. caris *“(s)he/it does” (VT49:16). The ending -s is also attested in object position, e.g. utúvienyes, "I have found [utúvienye-] it [-s]"). “It”, with reference to non-living or abstract things, does have a distinct form when appearing as an independent pronoun: sa (VT49:37), with long vowel (sá, VT49:51) when stressed. It is attested in object position: carë sa, “to do it” (VT49:34). Another word for “it” or “that” is ta (though in some sources, Tolkien used ta for plural impersonal “they, them” instead). Case endings may probably be added to sa, e.g. dative *san “for it” (cf. nin “for me”); sa also appears suffixed to a preposition in the word ósa *”with it” (VT43:29). Genitive ITS would normally appear as the ending -rya (only attested with personal meanings “his, her” – see HIS). “Its” as an independent word may be *sanya, formed from *san as the dative form of sa “it” (compare ninya “my” vs. ni “I”, dative nin “for me”). –VT49:16, 51, VT43:29, LotR:1008, TA