nimo / mo

The pronoun nimo is a versatile tool in Cebuano, primarily serving as the genitive (possession/actor) form, but frequently replacing the oblique form in casual speech.

1. Possession and Objects (Your / For You)
To show possession, place nimo after the noun: Balay nimo (Your house). Be careful not to use English word order: placing it before the noun (e.g., nimo balay) is strictly ungrammatical. Note that it is equally common to place the possessive before the noun using the preposed form imong (e.g., Imong balay). Nimo also follows prepositions: Para nimo (For you). Technically, the designated oblique form is kanimo, but nimo often replaces it in everyday conversation. In many dialects, especially in Mindanao, sa imo or sa imoha is a common alternative to nimo after prepositions.

2. The 'Doer' in Non-Actor Focus
In structures like gi- or -on, the person doing the action is in the genitive form. Example: Gipalit nimo ang isda (You bought the fish). This is different from the subject form ka, which is used when 'you' are the focus of the sentence (e.g., Gwapa ka).

3. Exclamations and Targets of Feelings
Nimo is heavily used in everyday exclamations with ka- to mean 'you are so [adjective]'. For example: Ka-gwapa nimo! (You are so beautiful!). It is also commonly used after stative verbs (words that describe states or feelings) to indicate the target of an emotion. For example: Nasuko siya nimo (He/She is angry at you).

4. The Negation Shift and Pronoun Order
As a second-position word, nimo must move if a sentence starts with a negation like wala or dili. Instead of following the verb, it jumps to follow the negation. In standard Cebuano, this requires dependent affixes: Wala nimo palita. Additionally, standard grammar dictates a strict rule regarding pronoun order: 1-syllable pronouns (like ko, mi, or ta) precede the 2-syllable nimo. For example: Nakita ko nimo (You saw me) or Wala ko nimo makita (You did not see me). However, there is a critical exception when using the short form mo. Because both mo and ko are 1-syllable, the actor precedes the object, resulting in Nakita mo ko (You saw me). This explains why you will hear both ko nimo and mo ko in everyday speech (though in casual spoken Bisaya, you might also hear the non-standard Nakita nimo ko). Note: While standard grammar requires these dependent forms (palita, makita), using the started action forms (Wala nimo gipalit, Wala ko nimo nakita) is highly natural and widely accepted in everyday casual speech.

5. Nimo vs. Mo
The short form mo can represent both the singular nimo and the plural mo (you all). While mo is grammatically correct for one person (e.g., Unsay ngalan mo?), using it for a single person is primarily perceived as literary, poetic, or dialect-specific. Most speakers prefer the full form nimo in everyday conversation. Furthermore, mo is more restricted than nimo: it cannot be used after prepositions (e.g., para mo is incorrect; it must be para nimo) or as an oblique object (e.g., nasuko siya mo is incorrect; it must be nasuko siya nimo). It is strictly used as a post-verb or post-noun enclitic. Also, be careful not to confuse the pronoun mo with the actor-focus future verb prefix mo- (e.g., mokaon = will eat).

6. Position and Standalone 'Yours'
As mentioned earlier, if you need to say 'Your...' before the noun, you use the preposed form imong. Note that imong is the possessive imo combined with the ligature to link it to the following noun. Furthermore, if you want to say 'Yours' as a standalone predicate, you use the base form imo (or imoha). For example: Imo kini or Imo ni (This is yours).

7. Plural Equivalent
If you are addressing more than one person, the plural equivalent of nimo for possession and the 'doer' of an action is ninyo (your all / by you all).