At CEFR level A1, Personalpronomen (personal pronouns) are words that replace nouns and change form according to grammatical case and the gender of the noun they stand for. After mastering this topic you will be able to substitute any noun with the correct pronoun in Nominativ, Akkusativ, and Dativ, and distinguish between informal du and formal Sie.
Without pronouns:
Lisa liest ein Buch. Lisa findet das Buch interessant.
Lisa reads a book. Lisa finds the book interesting.
With pronouns:
Lisa liest ein Buch. Sie findet es interessant.
Lisa reads a book. She finds it interesting.
German personal pronouns have different forms for each person, number (singular/plural), and grammatical case. Here is the complete overview:
| Fall | Singular | Plural | Formell | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Person | 2. Person | 3. Person | 1. Person | 2. Person | 3. Person | ||
| Nominativ | ich | du | er / sie / es | wir | ihr | sie | Sie |
| Akkusativ | mich | dich | ihn / sie / es | uns | euch | sie | Sie |
| Dativ | mir | dir | ihm / ihr / ihm | uns | euch | ihnen | Ihnen |
1. Pronouns substitute all nouns
Any noun can be replaced by a personal pronoun, not just people. Objects, animals, concepts – everything has a corresponding pronoun. The key is to match the pronoun to the gender (Genus) of the original noun.
der Tisch → er
the table → it (masculine)
die Lampe → sie
the lamp → it (feminine)
das Auto → es
the car → it (neuter)
2. Der Genus des Nomens bestimmt das Pronomen
When you replace a noun with a third-person pronoun (er, sie, es), you must choose the pronoun that matches the grammatical gender of the noun, not its biological gender. This means inanimate objects can be “he,” “she,” or “it” depending on their article.
Der Stuhl ist neu. Er steht im Wohnzimmer.
The chair is new. It is standing in the living room.
Die Uhr ist kaputt. Sie funktioniert nicht mehr.
The clock is broken. It doesn’t work anymore.
Das Fenster ist offen. Es muss geschlossen werden.
The window is open. It needs to be closed.
3. Anrede: Du oder Sie?
German has two ways to address people: informal and formal.
Informal address (du, ihr): Used with children, family members, close friends, and people you’re on familiar terms with. Young people often use “du” with each other from the start.
Formal address (Sie): Used in professional settings, with strangers, in customer service situations, and generally when showing respect or maintaining distance. The formal “Sie” is always capitalized, even in the middle of a sentence, and it’s the same for singular and plural.
Informal: Wie geht es dir, Anna?
How are you, Anna?
Formal: Wie geht es Ihnen, Herr Müller?
How are you, Mr. Müller?
When a sentence contains both a pronoun and a noun, there are specific word order rules you need to follow:
Regel 1: Pronoun before noun
If one complement is a pronoun and the other is a noun, the pronoun always comes first.
Julia schenkt ihm ein Fahrrad.
Julia gives him a bicycle.
→ pronoun ihm comes before noun ein Fahrrad
Regel 2: Akkusativ before Dativ
When both complements are pronouns, the Akkusativ pronoun comes before the Dativ pronoun.
Julia schenkt es ihm.
Julia gives it to him.
→ Akkusativ pronoun es comes before Dativ pronoun ihm
Let’s look at more examples showing how personal pronouns work in different contexts:
Nominativ (subject)
Ich lerne Deutsch. Du lernst auch. Wir sind Studenten.
I am learning German. You are learning too. We are students.
Akkusativ (direct object)
Der Lehrer sieht mich. Ich sehe dich auch. Wir sehen sie dort drüben.
The teacher sees me. I see you too. We see them over there.
Dativ (indirect object)
Das Buch gehört mir. Ich gebe dir das Buch. Dann gibst du ihm das Buch.
The book belongs to me. I give you the book. Then you give him the book.
Mixed examples with word order
Meine Mutter kauft mir einen Computer. Sie kauft ihn mir zum Geburtstag.
My mother buys me a computer. She buys it for me for my birthday.
Ich zeige euch meine Fotos. Später zeige ich sie euch am Computer.
I’ll show you my photos. Later I’ll show them to you on the computer.
German personal pronouns are ich, du, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie, and the formal Sie. They replace nouns and change form depending on grammatical case (Nominativ, Akkusativ, Dativ) and person.
In Nominativ the subject forms are used (ich, du, er…). In Akkusativ they change to direct-object forms (mich, dich, ihn…). In Dativ they change to indirect-object forms (mir, dir, ihm…). The third-person forms must also match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace.
'Du' is the informal singular 'you', used with friends, family, children, and peers. 'Sie' (always capitalised) is the formal 'you' used in professional or polite situations. Both singular and plural formal address use 'Sie'.
When a sentence has both a pronoun and a noun object, the pronoun always comes first. When both objects are pronouns, the Akkusativ pronoun comes before the Dativ pronoun — for example: Julia schenkt es ihm.