Personal Pronouns
Important Usage Tips
Formal vs. Informal: Use du for friends, family, and children. Use Sie for strangers, colleagues, and figures of authority.
Grammatical Gender: In German, objects have gender. If you are talking about a masculine object like der Tisch (the table), you must refer to it as er (he) or ihn (him), not "it".
You will learn the above topics in the next lessons.
1. Nominative Case (The Subject)
Use these when the pronoun is performing the action in the sentence.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | ich (I) | wir (we) |
| 2nd Person (Informal) | du (you - informal) | ihr (you all - informal) |
| 3rd Person | er (he) sie (she) es (it) | sie (they) |
| 2nd Person (Formal) | Sie (you - formal) | Sie (you all - formal) |
2nd Person (Formal) - The Singular and Plural values start with Capital ‘S’ i.e. Sie.
Please pay attention to lowercase (sie) and uppercase (Sie). The meaning will change, if you don’t pay attention to lowercase or uppercase. We will learn their difference in the next lessons.
2. Accusative Case (The Direct Object)
Use these when the pronoun receives the action directly, or after accusative prepositions (like für, gegen, durch).
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | mich (me) | uns (us) |
| 2nd Person (Informal) | dich (you) | euch (you all) |
| 3rd Person | ihn (him) sie (her) es (it) | sie (them) |
| 2nd Person (Formal) | Sie (you - formal) | Sie (you all - formal) |
2nd Person (Formal) - The Singular and Plural values start with Capital ‘S’ i.e. Sie.
Please pay attention to lowercase (sie) and uppercase (Sie). The meaning will change, if you don’t pay attention to lowercase or uppercase. We will learn their difference in the next lessons.
3. Dative Case (The Indirect Object)
Use these for the indirect object (usually the person receiving the direct object), or after dative prepositions (like mit, von, zu).
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person | mir (me) | uns (us) |
| 2nd Person (Informal) | dir (you) | euch (you all) |
| 3rd Person | ihm (him) ihr (her) ihm (it) | ihnen (them) |
| 2nd Person (Formal) | Ihnen (you - formal) | Ihnen (you all - formal) |
2nd Person (Formal) - The Singular and Plural values start with Capital ‘I’ i.e. Ihnen.
Please pay attention to lowercase (ihnen) and uppercase (Ihnen). The meaning will change, if you don’t pay attention to lowercase or uppercase. We will learn their difference in the next lessons.