AS Grammar: Pronouns

AS Grammar: Pronouns

Grammar: Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

  • Personal pronouns replace nouns already mentioned. They must agree in number, gender and case with the nouns they replace.
  • Singular personal pronouns include: ich (I), du (you), er/sie/es (he/she/it).
  • Plural personal pronouns include: wir (we), ihr (you), sie/Sie (they/you formal).
  • Every personal pronoun has a different form depending on the grammatical case, in both singular and plural form.

Possessive Pronouns

  • Possessive pronouns show ownership or a relationship between two entities.
  • They must agree with the possessed object in gender and case, while the form itself indicates the possessor.
  • Examples include mein (my), dein (your), sein (his), ihr (her), unser (our), euer (your, plural informal), ihr (their), Ihr (your, formal).

Reflexive Pronouns

  • Reflexive pronouns are used when the action of the verb refers back to the subject.
  • Examples: sich setzen (to sit down), sich fühlen (to feel), sich erinnern (to remember).
  • In accusative: mich (myself), dich (yourself), sich (himself, herself, itself), uns (ourselves), euch (yourselves), sich (themselves).
  • In dative: mir (to/for me), dir (to/for you), sich (to/for him/her), uns (to/for us), euch (to/for you), sich (to/for them).

Relative Pronouns

  • Relative pronouns are used to introduce a relative clause, a kind of dependent clause that provides more information about a preceding noun.
  • They must agree with the noun they refer to in number, gender and case.
  • Examples include: der/die/das (whose, who, that), welcher/welche/welches (which), was (which, what).

Demonstrative Pronouns

  • Demonstrative pronouns are used to refer back to something previously mentioned or to something that’s understood from the context.
  • They follow the same declination as the definite article. Examples are dieser/diese/dieses (this), jener/jene/jenes (that), der/die/das (that).
  • They can be used to emphasise: Ich will diesen Kuchen (I want this cake).

Remember to stay consistent in your usage and refer to practice exercises to familiarise yourself with each type of pronoun application. Happy revision!