I

i (plural in in Sindarin) is the Quenya and Sindarin article "the" and relative pronoun "who".

Etymology

It's possible that the article begun as a relative pronoun, whose Primitive Quendian Root was YA.

Sindarin

Mutations

In Sindarin, the singular form causes lenition to the following word. For example tâl "foot" > i dâl "the foot".

The plural form causes nasal mutation, and the final -n is assimilated. For example Periain "Halflings" > in+Periain > i-Pheriain "the Halflings"

(The affection is usually noted with a hyphen or a dot between article and word)

Related forms

These Sindarin prepositions contain the suffixed article -in

• nan "to the"
• ben "according to the"
• nuin "under the"
• erin "on the"
• uin "of the"

The above combined articles when before a word, cause a peculiar phenomenon of lenition different from the above.

As a relative pronoun

In both Quenya and Sindarin, i is used for the relative pronoun "who" or a conjunction "that", introducing a secondary phrase. In Quenya it is usually the plural form of ya/ye but can also be used in the Singular

For example

• Perhael, i sennui "Panthael" estathar aen "Samwise, who ought to be called 'Fullwise'"
• Eru i or ilye mahalmar ea "the One, who is above all thrones"

In Quenya, it can also be declined as a noun

• illon camnelyes "from whom you received it?".

References

• Dragon Flame 2.0