German personal pronouns

German pronouns

German pronouns can be a bit tricky, but once you get the hang of them, they will help you communicate more effectively

• ich I
• du You
• er He
• sie She
• es It
• wir We
• ihr You (pl)
• sie They
• mich Me
• dich You
• ihn Him
• sie Her
• es It
• uns Us
• euch You (pl)
• sie Them
• mir To me
• dir To you
• ihm To him
• ihr To her
• ihm To it
• uns To us
• euch To you (pl)
• ihnen To them
• meiner My
• deiner Your
• seiner His
• ihrer Her
• seiner Its
• unserer Our
• eurer Your (pl)
• ihrer Their

Understanding German Pronouns: A Beginner Guide

Learning to use German pronouns correctly involves understanding the different types of pronouns and how they function in sentences. This tutorial will provide you with a solid foundation for using German pronouns effectively.

Understanding the Basics

To use German pronouns correctly, you need to understand some fundamental grammatical concepts:

• Gender: German nouns are categorized into three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.
• Case: German uses four cases (nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive) to indicate the role of a noun or pronoun in a sentence.
• Formality: Pronouns can change based on the level of formality, especially when addressing others.

Types of Pronouns in German

Understanding the different types of pronouns in German is essential for mastering the language. Each type of pronoun serves a specific function in sentences. Here’s a comprehensive guide to the various types of German pronouns.

• Personal pronouns (Personalpronomen)
• Reflexive Pronouns (Reflexivpronomen)
• Possessive Pronouns (Possessivpronomen)
• Interrogative Pronouns (Interrogativpronomen)
• Demonstrative Pronouns (Demonstrativpronomen)

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are used to replace specific people or things. They change form depending on the case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive), number (singular, plural), and sometimes gender.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ich (I)	wir (we)
Accusative	mich (me)	uns (us)
Dative	mir (to/for me)	uns (to/for us)
Genitive	meiner (of me)	unser (of us)

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership or possession. They also change form based on case, number, and gender.

Case	Masculine/Neuter	Feminine/Plural
Nominative	mein (my)	meine (my)
Accusative	meinen (my)	meine (my)
Dative	meinem (my)	meiner (my)
Genitive	meines (my)	meiner (my)

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and the object of the verb are the same. They indicate that the action of the verb is performed on the subject itself.

Case	Singular	Plural
Accusative	mich (myself)	uns (ourselves)
Dative	mir (to/for myself)	uns (to/for ourselves)

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used to point to specific things. They can change form based on the case, number, and gender.

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Nominative	dieser	diese	dieses	diese
Accusative	diesen	diese	dieses	diese
Dative	diesem	dieser	diesem	diesen
Genitive	dieses	dieser	dieses	dieser

How Pronouns Change in Context

Pronouns in German change depending on their role in the sentence. Here's an example using the personal pronoun "ich" (I):

• Nominative (subject): Ich gehe. (I go.)
• Accusative (direct object): Er sieht mich. (He sees me.)
• Dative (indirect object): Er gibt mir das Buch. (He gives me the book.)
• Genitive (possession): Er erinnert sich meiner. (He remembers me.)

Personal pronouns in German

Personal pronouns replace specific nouns and indicate the person or thing performing the action. They change according to case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive), number (singular, plural), and sometimes gender.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ich (I)	wir (we)
Accusative	mich (me)	uns (us)
Dative	mir (to/for me)	uns (to/for us)
Genitive	meiner (of me)	unser (of us)

Nominative Case

The nominative case is used for the subject of the sentence, the person or thing performing the action.

English	German
I	ich
You	du
He	er
She	sie
It	es
We	wir
You (pl)	ihr
They	sie

Accusative Case

The accusative case is used for the direct object of the sentence, the person or thing directly affected by the action.

English	German
Me	mich
You	dich
Him	ihn
Her	sie
It	es
Us	uns
You (pl)	euch
Them	sie

Dative Case

The dative case is used for the indirect object of the sentence, the person or thing that receives the direct object.

English	German
To me	mir
To you	dir
To him	ihm
To her	ihr
To it	ihm
To us	uns
To you (pl)	euch
To them	ihnen

Genitive Case

The genitive case shows possession, similar to using "of" or an apostrophe in English.

English	German
My	meiner
Your	deiner
His	seiner
Her	ihrer
Its	seiner
Our	unserer
Your (pl)	eurer
Their	ihrer

Reflexive pronouns German

Reflexive pronouns (Reflexivpronomen) are essential in German grammar. They are used with reflexive and reciprocal verbs and must match the subject and case they are in. Let's explore how to use these pronouns correctly.

What Are Reflexive Pronouns?

Reflexive pronouns are words like "myself" or "yourself" in English. They indicate that the subject of the sentence is also the object of the action. In German, these pronouns include: mich/mir, dich/dir, uns, euch, and sich.

Reflexive Pronouns in Different Cases

Reflexive pronouns in German change based on the case they are in. Here’s how they look in the accusative and dative cases.

Accusative Case

The accusative case is used when the reflexive pronoun is the direct object of the verb.

Pronoun	Singular	Plural
1st Person	mich (myself)	uns (ourselves)
2nd Person	dich (yourself)	euch (yourselves)
3rd Person	sich (himself/herself/itself)	sich (themselves)

Dative Case

The dative case is used when the reflexive pronoun is the indirect object of the verb.

Pronoun	Singular	Plural
1st Person	mir (to/for myself)	uns (to/for ourselves)
2nd Person	dir (to/for yourself)	euch (to/for yourselves)
3rd Person	sich (to/for himself/herself/itself)	sich (to/for themselves)

Using Reflexive Pronouns with Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs are verbs that take a reflexive pronoun. Here are some examples:

sich waschen (to wash oneself)

• Ich wasche mich. (I wash myself.)
• Du wäschst dich. (You wash yourself.)
• Er/Sie/Es wäscht sich. (He/She/It washes himself/herself/itself.)
• Wir waschen uns. (We wash ourselves.)
• Ihr wascht euch. (You wash yourselves.)
• Sie waschen sich. (They wash themselves.)

Using Reflexive Pronouns with Reciprocal Verbs

Reciprocal verbs involve actions done to each other. Here are some examples:

sich treffen (to meet each other)

• Wir treffen uns. (We meet each other.)
• Ihr trefft euch. (You meet each other.)
• Sie treffen sich. (They meet each other.)

Possessive pronouns in German

Possessive pronouns in German do more than just indicate ownership. They can also replace the noun entirely, making sentences shorter and clearer. Let’s explore how to use these pronouns correctly.

What Are Possessive Pronouns?

Possessive pronouns indicate who owns something. For example, in English, we use "my" to describe something we own and "mine" to replace the noun altogether. German works the same way but includes changes based on the gender and case of the noun.

Using Possessive Pronouns

When the noun is present, use a possessive adjective. When replacing the noun, use a possessive pronoun.

Example:

• Hast du meinen Hund gesehen? (Have you seen my dog?) - Here, "meinen" is the possessive adjective.
• Ist das deiner? (Is that yours?) - Here, "deiner" is the possessive pronoun replacing "Hund."

Possessive Pronouns by Case and Gender

German nouns have gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) and case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive). The possessive pronoun must match these attributes.

Nominative Case

English	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Mine	meiner	meine	meins	meine
Yours	deiner	deine	deins	deine
His	seiner	seine	seins	seine
Hers	ihrer	ihre	ihrs	ihre
Its	seiner	seine	seins	seine
Ours	unserer	unsere	unseres	unsere
Yours (pl)	eurer	eure	eures	eure
Theirs	ihrer	ihre	ihrs	ihre

Accusative Case

English	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Mine	meinen	meine	meins	meine
Yours	deinen	deine	deins	deine
His	seinen	seine	seins	seine
Hers	ihren	ihre	ihrs	ihre
Its	seinen	seine	seins	seine
Ours	unseren	unsere	unseres	unsere
Yours (pl)	euren	eure	eures	eure
Theirs	ihren	ihre	ihrs	ihre

Dative Case

English	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Mine	meinem	meiner	meinem	meinen
Yours	deinem	deiner	deinem	deinen
His	seinem	seiner	seinem	seinen
Hers	ihrem	ihrer	ihrem	ihren
Its	seinem	seiner	seinem	seinen
Ours	unserem	unserer	unserem	unseren
Yours (pl)	eurem	eurer	eurem	euren
Theirs	ihrem	ihrer	ihrem	ihren

Genitive Case

English	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
Mine	meines	meiner	meines	meiner
Yours	deines	deiner	deines	deiner
His	seines	seiner	seines	seiner
Hers	ihres	ihrer	ihres	ihrer
Its	seines	seiner	seines	seiner
Ours	unseres	unserer	unseres	unserer
Yours (pl)	eures	eurer	eures	eurer
Theirs	ihres	ihrer	ihres	ihrer

Interrogative Pronouns in German

Interrogative pronouns are essential for asking questions about people or things in German. This tutorial will help you understand how to use these pronouns correctly in various contexts.

What Are Interrogative Pronouns?

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions about people or things. They don't have a gender, but some of them change according to the grammatical case of the noun you're asking about. In questions, these pronouns usually appear at the beginning of the sentence.

Common German Interrogative Pronouns

Here are the main interrogative pronouns in German:

English	German
Who	wer
What	was
Which	welcher
Whom	wen (accusative), wem (dative)

Using Interrogative Pronouns in Different Cases

Nominative Case

Use the nominative case when the interrogative pronoun is the subject of the question.

• Who (nominative): Wer
  1. Wer kommt heute? (Who is coming today?)
• What (nominative): Was
  1. Was ist das? (What is that?)

Accusative Case

Use the accusative case when the interrogative pronoun is the direct object of the question.

• Whom (accusative): Wen
  1. Wen siehst du? (Whom do you see?)
• What (accusative): Was
  1. Was machst du? (What are you doing?)

Dative Case

Use the dative case when the interrogative pronoun is the indirect object of the question.

• Whom (dative): Wem
  1. Wem gibst du das Buch? (To whom are you giving the book?)

Genitive Case

Use the genitive case to show possession, although it's less common in everyday questions.

• Whose (genitive): Wessen
  • Wessen Auto ist das? (Whose car is that?)

Examples in Questions

Let's look at some examples to see how these pronouns are used in questions.

• Who is there?
  1. Wer ist da?
• What are you eating?
  1. Was isst du?
• Which book do you want?
  1. Welches Buch willst du?
• To whom did you give the keys?
  1. Wem hast du die Schlüssel gegeben?