Grammar: I, You, He, She, We, They

Grammar: I, You, He, She, We, They

1. Understanding Pronouns in German

In German, the pronouns ‘I, You, He, She, We, They’ are translated as ‘Ich, Du, Er, Sie, Wir, Sie’ respectively.
These pronouns replace nouns in sentences and are the subject of the verb.
For example, ‘Er liest das Buch’ would be ‘He is reading the book’.

2. Identifying Pronouns in Sentences

The subject pronoun is typically the one doing the action in a sentence.
It’s important to be able to identify each pronoun in sentences and know their German translations. Practice by converting simple sentences between English and German.

3. Pronouns and Verb Conjugation

German verbs change their endings based on the subject pronouns. This is called verb conjugation.
For example, the verb ‘lesen’ (to read) can change as: ‘ich lese’, ‘du liest’, ‘er/sie/es liest’, ‘wir lesen’, ‘ihr lest’ and ‘sie/Sie lesen’.

4. Formal and Informal ‘You’

German has a formal and informal way of addressing ‘you’. ‘Du’ is informal and typically used with friends, family, or people of the same age. ‘Sie’ is formal and is used with people you don’t know well, or in professional or formal settings.
In addition, ‘Sie’ is also used to refer to ‘they’. Understanding the context will help you distinguish between the two.

5. Capitalising ‘Sie’

‘Sie’ for formal ‘you’ is always capitalised, except when it’s part of a sentence after the first word. ‘sie’ for ‘they’ is only capitalised at the beginning of a sentence.
For example, ‘Können Sie mir helfen?’ (Can you help me?), ‘Ich weiss, dass sie mir helfen können.’ (I know that they can help me).

6. Common Mistakes to Avoid

Be aware that pronouns must agree in number with the verb. For example, ‘Ich spielt’ is incorrect, the correct form is ‘Ich spiele’.
Don’t confuse ‘du’ and ‘Sie’. Be sure to use the appropriate form based on your relationship with the person you’re addressing.
Always practice by translating sentences from English to German to further reinforce these concepts.