Personalpronomen (Personal Pronouns)
Personal pronouns stand for people and things: ich, du, er, sie, es … Like English I and me, they change their form with their role in the sentence (the case). In everyday German, pronouns have three case forms, and there are three words for you.
All forms at a glance
| Person | Nominativ | Akkusativ | Dativ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | ich (I) | mich (me) | mir (me, to me) |
| 2nd singular, informal | du (you) | dich (you) | dir (you, to you) |
| 3rd singular, masculine | er (he, it) | ihn (him, it) | ihm (him, it, to him) |
| 3rd singular, feminine | sie (she, it) | sie (her, it) | ihr (her, it, to her) |
| 3rd singular, neuter | es (it) | es (it) | ihm (it, to it) |
| 1st plural | wir (we) | uns (us) | uns (us, to us) |
| 2nd plural, informal | ihr (you) | euch (you) | euch (you, to you) |
| 3rd plural | sie (they) | sie (them) | ihnen (them, to them) |
| formal, singular and plural | Sie (you) | Sie (you) | Ihnen (you, to you) |
| Question word | wer? (who) | wen? (who, whom) | wem? (who, to whom) |
Three words for you
du is for one person you know well, such as family and friends, and for children; young people use it with each other, and many colleagues do too. ihr is the plural of du: two or more people you would each call du. Sie, always with a capital S, is the polite form for one or more people: strangers, customers, officials and most adults you do not know. It takes the same verb form as sie (they), even when you speak to one person. If in doubt, use Sie until the other person offers du.
Kommst du mit?Are you coming? (to one friend)
Kommt ihr mit?Are you coming? (to several friends)
Kommen Sie mit?Are you coming? (polite)
sie, sie or Sie?
The same form sie means she, her, they, them, and also it for a feminine noun. With a capital letter, Sie is the polite you. The verb ending and the context show which one is meant: sie spielt (she plays), sie spielen (they play), Sie spielen (you play).
At the start of a sentence every word has a capital letter, so Sie spielen can mean either they play or you play; only the context decides.
ihr has two meanings as well: you (plural, informal) and to her, the dative of sie: Ich gebe ihr das Buch. (I give her the book.)
"It" can be er, sie or es
English uses it for all things. German uses the pronoun that matches the gender of the noun: a masculine noun becomes er, a feminine noun sie and a neuter noun es, even for objects.
Der Tisch ist neu. Er ist aus Holz.The table is new. It's made of wood.
Die Lampe ist kaputt. Sie geht nicht.The lamp is broken. It doesn't work.
Das Buch ist spannend. Ich lese es gern.The book is gripping. I enjoy reading it.
Ich suche meinen Schlüssel. Hast du ihn gesehen?I'm looking for my key. Have you seen it?
The rule follows the grammar, not the meaning: das Mädchen (the girl) is neuter, so the pronoun is often es: Das Mädchen ist neun. Es geht in die vierte Klasse. In everyday speech many people use sie instead.
Common mistake
Wo ist der Löffel? Es ist in der Schublade. is wrong; correct: Wo ist der Löffel? Er ist in der Schublade.
Löffel is masculine (der Löffel), so "it" is er.
Accusative and dative
The accusative form is used for the direct object, the dative form for the indirect object (often "to someone"). Some verbs always take the dative, for example helfen, danken and gehören. Prepositions decide the case too: für takes the accusative (für dich), mit takes the dative (mit mir).
Ich liebe dich.I love you.
Wir laden euch zum Abendessen ein.We're inviting you to dinner.
Kannst du mir das Salz geben?Can you pass me the salt?
Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?How can I help you?
Das Fahrrad gehört ihm.The bike belongs to him.
Das Geschenk ist für dich.The present is for you.
Kommst du mit mir ins Kino?Are you coming to the cinema with me?
Common mistake
Kannst du mich helfen? is wrong; correct: Kannst du mir helfen?
In English, "help" has a direct object (help me). German helfen takes the dative: mir, dir, ihm, ihr, uns, euch, ihnen, Ihnen.
gefallen (to please) also takes the dative, and the sentence is built the other way round from English like: the thing you like is the subject, and the person is in the dative. Der Film gefällt mir. (I like the film.) Gefallen dir die Schuhe? (Do you like the shoes?)
Check yourself
Written by: Fatih Ün, German teacher · Last updated: