Personalpronomen im Nominativ – Personal Pronouns in the Nominative Case
Just like in English, personal pronouns in German are used to substitute nouns once they have already been mentioned, including people, animals, objects, or abstract ideas. There are nine basic personal pronouns in German.
er, sie, es
| Die Mutter geht heute auf den Markt. | The mother is going to the market today. |
| Sie geht heute auf den Markt. | She is going to the market today. |
| Das Mädchen kommt mit. | The little girl goes along. |
| Es kommt mit. | It goes along. (Mädchen is a neutral noun in German because of the ‘chen’ diminutive ending) |
| Der Vater geht mit. | The father goes with them. |
| Er geht mit. | He goes with them. |
When es is not es
One big difference between German and English is the use of the pronoun es. In English, “it” is used whenever nouns do not have a biological gender. Therefore, any object or abstract noun will be considered “it.” (Where is the castle? It is …)
In German, however, every noun has a grammatical gender (der, die, das). When you substitute a noun with a personal pronoun, you need to pay attention to the noun’s grammatical gender, which sometimes produces results that may sound strange to you.
| der Student | Maria, sieht du den neuen Film von Clint Eastwood? | Maria, are you watching the new movie by Clint Eastwood? |
| Maria | Ja, er ist ganz toll! | Yes, it is really exciting! |
| der Student | Und wo ist die Jacke? | And where is the jacket? |
| Maria | Sie ist zu Hause. | It is at home. |
Since movie is a masculine noun, the masculine pronoun er substitutes it in the little girl’s response. Next, the student asks about the jacket, feminine in German (die Jacke). Hence Maria’s response using sie. As a native speaker of English, you may want to choose the pronoun es (it) for any inanimate object (e.g., a bottle of wine), of course. Resist that urge, and don’t worry: it takes a while to get used to German pronouns.
Another sie
| Die Mutter und das Mädchen kaufen eine Flasche Wein und frische Äpfel. | The mother and girl buy a bottle of wine and some fresh apples. |
| Sie kaufen eine Flasche Wein und frische Äpfel. | They buy a bottle of wine and some fresh apples. |
“sie” is used for both she and they, and you will need to figure out from the context who is actually shopping at the market. In this example the sie refers to both the girl and her mom.
ich, du
| das Mädchen | Mama, ich möchte Wein trinken! | Mama, I want to drink some wine. |
| die Mutter | Wie bitte??? Du darfst erst Wein trinken, wenn du 16 Jahre alt bist! | Yeah, right. You will be allowed to drink wine only when you are 16 years old! |
wir, ihr
| das Mädchen | Mama, darf ich mit Anna ins Kino? Wir wollen den neuen Disneyfilm sehen! | Mama, can I go to the movies with Gretel? We want to see the new Disney film! |
| die Mutter | Ihr dürft gehen, wenn ihr mit den Hausaufgaben fertig seid. | You guys can go only when you have finished your homework. |
| das Mädchen | Unsere Hausaufgaben sind fertig. Wir sind schnell | But our homework is already done. We are fast. |
Terms of address: du, ihr and Sie
In German, there are three ways to address people you talk to:
Du is the informal equivalent of single “you.” Du is reserved for friends, young people, children and pets.
Ihr is also informal, also means “you” but refers to more than one person. It is also used for friends, peers, people your own age, children and pets … (think y’all or you guys).
Sie is the formal “you” and can be used when talking to one or more individuals. This is the appropriate expression to use when you meet other adults for the first time if you don’t know them. Sie is a sign of respect, and is fairly common even among long-term acquaintances and work colleagues if they don’t consider each other to be close friends.
Sie is the appropriate expression when you ask for help from sales persons, office clerks, your professors, strangers and people who are older than you.
| Herr Müller | Maria, kannst du bitte die Tür öffnen? | Maria, can you please open the door? |
| Maria | Natürlich. Herr Müller, wo möchten Sie sitzen? | Of course. Mr. Müller, where would you like to sit? |
| der Professor | Gegenüber der Tür. | Across from the door. |
| Herr Müller | Maria, du und deine Mutter, ihr sollt mich besuchen! | Maria, you and your mom, you guys should visit me! |
Nominative pronouns
This table reviews the different pronouns in the nominative case and what they mean.
| singular | plural | |
| 1st person | ich (I) | wir (we) |
| 2nd person | du (you) | ihr (y’all, you guys) |
| 3rd person masculine | er (he) | |
| 3rd person feminine | sie (she) | sie (they) |
| 3rd person neuter | es (it) | |
| formal | Sie (you) | |
