Personal pronouns
die Personalpronomen
Personal pronouns are the words that stand in for a noun and point to a person or thing: ich, du, er, sie, es.
There are three sie: she, they, and you (formal). English tells them apart with three different words (she, they, you); German uses one spelling and lets the verb ending and the capital letter do the work.
The subject never disappears
ShortcutWhat separates the three sie is not the letters but the verb ending: -t means “she,” -en means “they” or formal “you.”
English and German agree on one thing: you have to say the subject. You can’t answer “Are you coming?” with just “Coming.” In German the verb ending helps more than in English (ich komme, du kommst, er kommt), but it still isn’t enough on its own — the subject is written in every sentence.
Komme nach Hause.
no subject — not a sentence
Ich komme nach Hause.
I’m coming home.
The only exception is the imperative: Komm! (Come!) — there the subject is left out on purpose, because it is obviously the person you’re talking to.
Nine pronouns — the table to save
| German | English | Verb ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich | I | -e | ich komme |
| du | you (one person, informal) | -st | du kommst |
| er | he | -t | er kommt |
| sie | she | -t | sie kommt |
| es | it | -t | es kommt |
| German | English | Verb ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| wir | we | -en | wir kommen |
| ihr | you all (informal plural) | -t | ihr kommt |
| sie | they | -en | sie kommen |
| Sie | you (formal) | -en | Sie kommen |
The table holds only three different endings for the singular: -e · -st · -t (plus -en in the plural). Four endings, nine pronouns. The verb conjugation page covers all of it.
The plural pronouns come with a big advantage: wir (we), sie (they) and Sie (formal you) always use the dictionary form (the infinitive) of the verb.
Wir lernen Deutsch.
We’re learning German.
Three sie — the sure way to tell them apart
The same three letters, three different meanings. To tell them apart you look at two things: the capital letter and the verb ending. No other clue is needed.
| Spelling | Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| sie lowercase | -t | she | Sie kommt aus Berlin. |
| sie lowercase | -en | they | Sie kommen aus Berlin. |
| Sie always capital | -en | you (formal) | Kommen Sie aus Berlin? |
At the start of a sentence the capital-letter clue is useless — everything is capitalised there. Then your only support is the verb ending: -t means “she,” -en means “they” or “you.” If you see a capital Sie in the middle of a sentence, it is definitely the formal “you.”
Sie arbeitet hier.
She works here. — -t
Sie arbeiten hier.
They work here. or You work here.
Arbeiten Sie hier?
Do you work here? — capital S in the middle = formal you
er · sie · es — grammatical gender is not about people
English uses “it” for things and he/she for people, so the choice follows who or what you mean. German splits it three ways too, but the choice depends on the article of the noun, not on the person’s sex. Lifeless objects also become er or sie.
| Noun | Article | Pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| der Tisch — table | der | er |
| die Lampe — lamp | die | sie |
| das Buch — book | das | es |
| das Mädchen — girl | das | es |
The last row is surprising but true: das Mädchen is neuter (the diminutive ending -chen always makes a noun das), so its pronoun is es. In everyday speech Germans sometimes say sie; the grammatically correct one is es.
Wo ist der Tisch? — Er ist dort.
Where is the table? — It’s over there. (“it” = er)
Wo ist die Lampe? — Sie ist dort.
Where is the lamp? — It’s over there.
es — the empty subject
es is not only “it.” Just as in English (it’s raining, it’s cold, it’s eight o’clock), it fills the subject slot in sentences about weather, time and feelings. Nobody is doing the raining, but German still wants a subject.
- Es regnet. — It’s raining.
- Es ist kalt. — It’s cold.
- Es ist acht Uhr. — It’s eight o’clock.
- Es gibt einen Supermarkt hier. — There’s a supermarket here.
- Wie geht es dir? — How are you?
Es gibt = “there is / there are.” It is a fixed phrase that never changes and is followed by the Akkusativ: Es gibt einen Park. Think of English “there is,” but remember the thing that follows takes the object form.
What you just learned
___ kommst aus der Türkei.
Show the answer
Du, du — du. The ending -st belongs to the second person singular du. You use it when talking to one person you’re on informal terms with.
Sie kommen aus Berlin. — how many meanings can it have?
Show the answer
Two: “they” and “you (formal)” — Two. The verb takes -en, which rules out “she.” At the start of a sentence the capital-letter clue doesn’t work, so it is either “they” or formal “you.”
Which pronoun stands for der Tisch?
Show the answer
er. The pronoun comes from the noun’s article: der → er.
Traps
Leaving out the subject
The most common mistake, and the easiest to spot. In casual English you can say “Tired, honestly.” A German sentence needs its subject: a verb alone does not make a sentence.
Bin müde.
no subject
Ich bin müde.
I’m tired.
Mixing up ihr and Sie
English has only one “you,” but German has two ways to say it to several people, and the difference is sharp: ihr = informal, to more than one person (a group of friends). Sie = formal, and it can be a single person too.
Kommt ihr mit?
Are you all coming along? — to friends
Kommen Sie mit?
Are you coming along? — formal
Looking for the object in this table
The nine pronouns on this page are in the nominative — they are the subject of the sentence. The moment you say “me, him, us, them” the table changes, just as in English (I → me): ich → mich · mir, du → dich · dir. All of that is on the pronoun page.
Ich sehe dich.
I see you. — subject ich, object dich
Saying es for every “it”
The pronoun comes from the noun’s article, not from the English “it.” When you say “I saw it,” the book is das, so es — but the table is der, so er.
Der Tisch ist neu. Es ist schön.
wrong pronoun
Der Tisch ist neu. Er ist schön.
The table is new. It’s nice.
Build the sentence yourself
Tap the words and put them in order. This is the hardest part of German — and there are no options to pick from, you build it.
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tap the words
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tap the words
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tap the words
Know this before the test
The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.
- A cast of nine
ich · du · er · sie · es · wir · ihr · sie · Sie. The confusion is always sie: she / they / Sie (polite, capital).
Sie kommen aus Berlin. (they, or you formal)
- du is informal, Sie is formal
The wrong choice is not a grammar mistake but a politeness mistake. Use Sie with people you don’t know, and switch to du once they offer.
Kommen Sie herein!
- Things carry a gender
der Tisch → er · die Lampe → sie · das Mädchen → es. Saying es for every “it” is the most common A1 mistake.
Der Tisch? Er ist neu.
- es is the subject of weather and fixed phrases
Es regnet · Es ist kalt — nobody is doing the raining, so es fills the empty subject slot.
Es regnet.
Die Lampe? Es ist neu.
Die Lampe? Sie ist neu.
The pronoun follows the grammatical gender.
sie kommen = definitely “they are coming”
Check the capital letter: Sie = you (formal)
At the start of a sentence both are capitalised — then context decides.
Regnet.
Es regnet.
German doesn’t like a sentence without a subject; es fills the gap.
In a job interview: Kommst du morgen?
Kommen Sie morgen?
In a formal setting du counts as rude.
Test yourself
Tap an answer — we will look at why together.
Sie kommen aus Berlin. — how many meanings can it have?
Which pronoun stands for der Tisch?
Which pronoun stands for das Mädchen?
To a group of friends: “Are you coming?”
It’s raining.
Which one is not nominative?
Practice done — –
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Personal pronoun pocket card
This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.
Related topics
Verb conjugation · Präsens
Ich gehe, du gehst
Conjugation means the verb changes its ending to match the subject: Ich gehe, du gehst, er geht.
der · die · das
read the ending, not the word
Stop memorising der/die/das one word at a time; read the ending instead.
Pronouns
mich or mir?
mich or mir — the full pronoun table and which case turns up when.