A1.1 · 2 of 30

Personalpronomen

Lesson · 4 rules · about 5 min

Before a German verb can do anything, you need to know who's doing it — and German has two ways to say 'you' to one person.

  1. 1The nine forms
  2. 2sie / sie / Sie
  3. 3du or Sie?
  4. 4es is not only 'it'
Why this matters

The subject pronouns say who is doing the action — ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, Sie. German has one more than English in two places: two words for 'you' in the singular (du to a friend, Sie to a stranger) and a separate 'you' for a group (ihr). And one word, sie, does three jobs — she, they, and (capitalised) the formal you. The verb ending tells you which is meant, which is why pronouns and verb endings are learnt together.

Question 1 of 10 · eins
eins1zwei2drei3vier4fünf5sechs6sieben7acht8neun9zehn10

Welches Pronomen?

bin müde. (I)

I am tired.

English: I