Lesson 14: Personal Pronouns in German

In German, personal pronouns are words used to replace names or nouns when we refer to people or things. They make sentences simpler and less repetitive.

In English personal pronouns are words like “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” “it,” “we,” and “they”.

In German, they change slightly depending on their role in a sentence (at the moment we have seen nominative and accusative cases only).

Let’s start hearing a small dialogue.

Hast du den Kuchen probiert?
• Ja, ich habe ihn probiert. Er schmeckt sehr gut!
• Und die Torten? Magst du sie auch?
• Nein, ich mag sie nicht. Ich esse lieber den Kuchen.

Here the transcription with translation of the dialogue.

Speaker	German	English
Hans:	Hast du den Kuchen probiert?	Have you tried the cake?
Anna:	Ja, ich habe ihn probiert. Er schmeckt sehr gut!	Yes, I have tried it. It tastes very good!
Hans:	Und was ist mit die Torten? Magst du sie auch?	And what about the pies? Do you like them too?
Anna:	Nein, ich mag sie nicht. Ich esse lieber den Kuchen.	No, I don’t like them. I prefer the cake.

Analysis of the dialogue

In the dialogue, personal pronouns in the accusative case are used to refer to specific objects mentioned earlier in the conversation.

Here’s the breakdown:

Hans: Hast du den Kuchen probiert?

In this sentence, den Kuchen is in the accusative case (direct object), referring to the cake.

Anna: Ja, ich habe ihn probiert. Er schmeckt sehr gut!

ihn is used in place of den Kuchen (the cake) as the accusative pronoun, referring back to the cake mentioned earlier. It replaces the direct object in the sentence to avoid repetition. Also er refers back to the cake mentioned earlier, but in this case is the subject of the sentence, therefore the masculine nominative personal pronoun er is used.

Hans: Und die Torten? Magst du sie auch?

sie is the accusative pronoun and refers to the pies (die Torten), to avoid repeating die Torten.

Anna: Nein, ich mag sie nicht. Ich esse lieber den Kuchen.

Again, sie replaces die Torten (the pies) as the accusative pronoun. It refers back to the pies mentioned earlier, acting as the direct object in the sentence.

Throughout the conversation, accusative pronouns like ihn (it), sie (them) are used to avoid repeating the specific nouns (den Kuchen and die Torten) as direct objects. They help to make the dialogue more concise and avoid redundancy while clearly referencing the previously mentioned items.

Personal Pronouns: Nominative vs. Accusative Case

These are the personal pronouns in nominative and accusative case.

• Nominative Case: These pronouns are used when they are the subject or the one doing the action in a sentence.

  • Ich (I), du (you), er/sie/es (he/she/it), wir (we), ihr (you all), sie (they)

• Accusative Case: These pronouns are used when they receive the action in a sentence, like the direct object.

  • mich (me), dich (you), ihn/sie/es (him/her/it), uns (us), euch (you all), sie (them)

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative
	Ich (I)	wir (we)
	du (you)	ihr (you all)
	er/sie/es (he/she/it)	sie (they)
Accusative
	mich (me)	uns (us)
	dich (you)	euch (you all)
	ihn/sie/es (him/her/it)	sie (them)

Use Cases for German Personal Pronouns in Accusative Case:

These are all the use case for personal pronouns in the accusative case.

1. Direct Object:

   • Personal pronouns in the accusative case are used as direct objects in sentences, receiving the action of the verb.
   • Examples:
     • Ich sehe ihn. (I see him.)
       • “ihn” is the direct object as it receives the action of the verb “sehen” (see).
     • Sie liebt sie. (She loves her/them.)
       • The first “sie” is the subject, and the second “sie” is the direct object. The accusative pronoun “sie” refers to her/them, depending on the context.

2. Replacing Nouns as Direct Objects:

   • Accusative pronouns replace specific nouns functioning as direct objects to avoid repetition.
   • Examples:
     • Er mag es. (He likes it.)
       • “es” replaces a specific noun as the direct object of the verb “mögen” (like).
     • Sie braucht ihn. (She needs him.)
       • “ihn” replaces a specific noun as the direct object, referring to a person being needed.

3. Referring to Actions or Directions:

   • Accusative pronouns indicate actions, directions, or movements.
   • Examples:
     • Gib mir das Buch. (Give me the book.)
       • “mir” refers to the recipient of the action, indicating the direction of the verb “geben” (give).
     • Wir gehen euch besuchen. (We are coming to visit you all.)
       • “euch” indicates the direction of the action “besuchen” (visit), referring to the people being visited.

4. After Certain Prepositions:

   • Accusative pronouns are used after specific prepositions.
   • Examples:
     • Sie geht durch ihn. (She walks through it/him.)
       • “ihn” follows the preposition “durch” (through).
     • Ich danke dir für alles. (I thank you for everything.)
       • “dir” follows the preposition “für” (for).

5. In Comparative Constructions:

   • Accusative pronouns are used in comparative structures.
   • Examples:
     • Er ist größer als mich. (He is taller than me.)
       • “mich” is used in comparison, indicating the subject’s comparative position.
     • Sie kennt es besser als ihn. (She knows it better than him.)
       • “ihn” is used in comparison to indicate a comparison between two objects.

Practice Exercise:

Replace the direct objects with the correct accusative pronouns in these sentences:

• Er sieht den Hund. (He sees the dog.)
• Sie hört die Musik. (She hears the music.)
• Wir lesen das Buch. (We read the book.)
• Sie öffnet die Tür. (She opens the door.)
• Er sucht den Schlüssel. (He is looking for the key.)
• Das Kind isst den Apfel. (The child eats the apple.)
• Wir mögen die Blumen. (We like the flowers.)
• Sie trägt den Rock. (She wears the skirt.)
• Er kennt die Antwort. (He knows the answer.)
• Die Katze jagt die Maus. (The cat chases the mouse.)

Click for the solutions .

Understanding personal pronouns is essential for speaking and writing in German, making sentences more concise and easier to understand.