Introduction to Personal Pronouns
In German, personal pronouns are used to refer to people or things and change according to the case (nominative, accusative, dative, or genitive). Here, we will cover all the German personal pronouns and provide examples for each.
Personal Pronouns in Nominative Case
The nominative case is used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence.
| German |
English |
| ich |
I |
| du |
you (informal singular) |
| er |
he |
| sie |
she |
| es |
it |
| wir |
we |
| ihr |
you (informal plural) |
| sie |
they |
| Sie |
you (formal) |
Examples
German: Ich bin müde.
English: I am tired.
German: Du bist mein Freund.
English: You are my friend.
German: Er ist Lehrer.
English: He is a teacher.
German: Sie ist meine Schwester.
English: She is my sister.
Personal Pronouns in Accusative Case
The accusative case is used when the pronoun is the direct object of the sentence.
| German |
English |
| mich |
me |
| dich |
you (informal singular) |
| ihn |
him |
| sie |
her |
| es |
it |
| uns |
us |
| euch |
you (informal plural) |
| sie |
them |
| Sie |
you (formal) |
Examples
German: Kannst du mich hören?
English: Can you hear me?
German: Ich sehe ihn jeden Tag.
English: I see him every day.
German: Er liebt sie.
English: He loves her.
Personal Pronouns in Dative Case
The dative case is used when the pronoun is the indirect object of the sentence.
| German |
English |
| mir |
me |
| dir |
you (informal singular) |
| ihm |
him |
| ihr |
her |
| ihm |
it |
| uns |
us |
| euch |
you (informal plural) |
| ihnen |
them |
| Ihnen |
you (formal) |
Examples
German: Sie gibt mir ein Buch.
English: She gives me a book.
German: Ich schreibe ihm einen Brief.
English: I am writing him a letter.
German: Er hilft uns gerne.
English: He likes helping us.