“It’s got to ask uss a question, my preciouss, yes, yess, yess. Jusst one more question to guess, yes, yess.”

Gollum speaks these words during his riddle game with Bilbo in Chapter 5. These sentences perfectly capture Gollum’s corrupt, sibilant, hissing form of speech. He never addresses Bilbo directly but speaks only to his mysterious “precious,” calling Bilbo “It.” Gollum’s infatuation with his precious also acts as a bit of foreshadowing. “Precious” turns out to be the magic ring that Bilbo had discovered and placed in his pocket. Gollum’s devotion to the ring highlights its extreme, seductive powers.