i

1 "the", indeclinable definite article I, Nam, RGEO:67, Markirya, WJ:369, WJ:398, MC:215, 216, 221. A variant in q.v. is also attested. Hyphenated i- in i-mar "the earth" FS, i-Ciryamo "the mariner's" UT:8, i-aldar *"the trees" Narqelion, attached with a dot in i·yulmar *"the cups" VT48:11, I·Eldanyárë "the History of the Elves" LR:199, i·arya *“the best” PE17:57, directly prefixed with no hyphen or dot in icilyanna = i cilyanna in SD:247, also ihyarma “the left hand” in VT49:22 but i hyarma in other versions of the same text. 2 relative pronoun "the one/they who; that which" both article and relative pronoun in CO: i Eru i or ilyë mahalmar ëa: the One who is above all thrones", i hárar "they who are sitting"; cf. also the phrase i hamil mára "that which you deem good" VT42:33. Notice that before a verb, i means "the one who", or, in the case of a plural verb, "those who"; e.g. i carir quettar ómainen "those who form words with voices" WJ:391. According to VT47:21, i as a relative pronoun is the personal plural form corresponding to the personal sg. ye and the impersonal sg. ya. This agrees with the example i carir..., but as is evident from the other examples listed above, Tolkien in certain texts also used i as a singular relative pronoun, both personal Eru i... and impersonal i hamil. In the sense of a plural personal relative pronoun, i is also attested in the genitive ion and ablative illon cases, demonstrating that unlike the indeclinable article i, the relative pronoun i can receive case endings. Both are translated "from whom": ion/ illon camnelyes "from whom you received it" referring to several persons VT47:21. 3 conj. “that”. Savin Elessar ar ui/u nánë aran Ondórëo “I believe that Elessar really existed and uthat/u he was a king of Gondor” VT49:27, savin…ui/u Elesarno quetië naitë *”I believe uthat/u Elessar’s speaking is true” VT49:28Also cf. nai, nái “be it that” see nai \#1, which may seem to incorporate this conjunction.