first person

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See also: first-person

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Calque of Latin prīma persōna, itself a calque of Ancient Greek πρῶτον πρόσωπον (prôton prósōpon).

Noun

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first person (countable and uncountable, plural first persons)

  1. (grammar) Forms of pronouns or verbs used for the speaker or writer of the sentence in which they occur.
    "Am" is the first person singular of "to be".
    • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Hanar Codex entry:
      All hanar have two names. The Face Name is known to the world; the Soul Name is kept for use among close friends and relations. Hanar never refer to themselves in the first person in conversation with someone they know on a Face Name basis. To do so is considered egotistical, so instead they refer to themselves as "this one", or the impersonal "it".
  2. A form of narrative writing using verbs in the first person in order to give the impression that the action is happening to the narrator.

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