German Personal Pronouns (ich, du, er...)

Level: A1. Personal pronouns are the small words that stand in for a person or thing as the subject of a sentence — I, you, he, she, it, we, they. German has nine of them in the subject form, and two small puzzles: the du / Sie politeness choice, and the fact that sie does triple duty.

The rule

A personal pronoun replaces a noun so you do not repeat it: instead of Anna again, you say sie (she). These are the nominative (subject) forms — the pronoun doing the action of the verb.

German sorts them by person (who is speaking) and number (one or many), plus a formal register:

• ich (I), du (you, one person, informal), er (he), sie (she), es (it).
• wir (we), ihr (you, several people, informal), sie (they).
• Sie (you, formal) — singular or plural, always written with a capital S.

Two things trip up English speakers. First, er / sie / es follow the noun’s grammatical gender, not its real-world sex or type: der Tisch (the table) is er, die Lampe (the lamp) is sie, das Buch (the book) is es. Second, sie means she, they, and (capitalised) formal you — you tell them apart by the capital letter and the verb ending.

The pronoun forms

du, ihr or Sie?

German makes you choose how formally to address someone:

• du — one person you are close to: family, friends, children, classmates, pets, and online in many communities.
• ihr — more than one such person (the plural of du): Kommt ihr mit? (“Are you all coming?”).
• Sie — anyone you would not address by first name: strangers, officials, shop staff, a new colleague, your doctor. It is the same word for one person or many.

How to say it

German spelling is regular, but a few sounds need care here:

Example sentences

1. Ich bin müde.
   I am tired.
2. Du bist mein Freund.
   You are my friend.
   du = informal you
3. Er kommt aus Berlin.
   He comes from Berlin.
4. Sie wohnt in Hamburg.
   She lives in Hamburg.
   sie + singular verb = she
5. Es regnet heute.
   It is raining today.
6. Wir lernen Deutsch.
   We are learning German.
7. Ihr seid sehr nett.
   You (all) are very kind.
   ihr = informal plural you
8. Sie sind Studenten.
   They are students.
   sie + plural verb = they
9. Sind Sie Herr Müller?
   Are you Mr Müller?
   capital Sie = formal you
10. Wo wohnen Sie?
    Where do you live?
    formal you, in a question
11. Der Tisch ist alt. Er ist aus Holz.
    The table is old. It is made of wood.
    der → er
12. Die Lampe ist neu. Sie ist schön.
    The lamp is new. It is beautiful.
    die → sie
13. Das Buch ist gut. Es ist spannend.
    The book is good. It is exciting.
    das → es
14. Wir sind Freunde.
    We are friends.
15. Habt ihr Zeit?
    Do you (all) have time?
16. Sie arbeiten zusammen.
    They work together.
17. Ich heiße Anna, und du?
    My name is Anna, and you?
18. Das Mädchen ist jung. Es geht zur Schule.
    The girl is young. She goes to school.
    das Mädchen is neuter → es

Common mistakes

• ❌ Sie bist nett. → ✅ Du bist nett. The verb bist goes with du, not with Sie (which takes sind).
• ❌ Die Tisch… sie ist alt (for a table) → ✅ Der Tisch… er ist alt. Tisch is masculine, so the pronoun is er.
• ❌ Das Mädchen… sie ist jung → ✅ Das Mädchen… es ist jung. Grammatical gender wins: Mädchen is neuter → es.
• ❌ writing sie for formal “you” → ✅ Sie with a capital, everywhere in the sentence.
• ❌ du to a stranger at an office → ✅ Sie until you are invited to switch.

A short conversation

Im Büro: — Guten Tag. Sind Sie Frau Klein? — Ja, das bin ich. Und Sie? — Ich heiße Tom. Wir arbeiten ab heute zusammen.

Usage notes

• The verb always agrees. Learn the pronoun and its verb ending as a pair: ich habe, du hast, er hat, wir haben, ihr habt, sie/Sie haben.
• Capital Sie never relaxes. Even mid-sentence it keeps its capital: Können Sie mir helfen?
• Dropping the pronoun is rare. Unlike Spanish or Italian, German normally keeps the subject pronoun: say ich bin, not just bin.
• Next step: these are the subject (nominative) forms. When the pronoun is an object, the forms change (mich, dich, ihn, uns…) — a separate topic once these are solid.

Compared with…

• Grammatical gender decides whether an object is er, sie or es. If you are unsure which article a noun takes, revisit der, die, das: German Gender and the pronoun follows automatically.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Practice

Personal pronouns practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Which pronoun replaces 'der Tisch' (the table)?

sie es er ihr

Check

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er — Tisch is masculine (der), so the pronoun is er.

2 Formal 'Where do you live?' = Wo wohnen ____?

Check

Hint: capital letter, formal you

Show answer

Sie — Formal you is Sie, always capitalised.

3 Order the words: 'We are learning German.'

DeutschlernenWir

CheckReset

Show answer

Wir lernen Deutsch — Subject wir + verb lernen + object Deutsch.

4 Match each pronoun to its meaning.

• ich Match for ich — choose — Iitweyou (all, informal)
• ihr Match for ihr — choose — Iitweyou (all, informal)
• es Match for es — choose — Iitweyou (all, informal)
• wir Match for wir — choose — Iitweyou (all, informal)

Check

Show answer

• ich → I
• ihr → you (all, informal)
• es → it
• wir → we

ich = I, ihr = informal plural you, es = it, wir = we.

5 'Das Buch ist gut. ___ ist spannend.'

Er Sie Es Ihr

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Show answer

Es — Buch is neuter (das), so the pronoun is es.

Quiz

Check yourself

German personal pronouns

12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

0/12 0 answered

1. 1Which pronoun means 'I'?

   A er B ich C wir D ihr
   Show answer

   ich — ich = I.

2. 2The informal word for one 'you' is…

   A Sie B ihr C du D es
   Show answer

   du — du is the singular informal 'you'.

3. 3'The lamp (die Lampe) is new. ___ is beautiful.'

   A Er B Sie C Es D Ihr
   Show answer

   Sie — Lampe is feminine (die), so the pronoun is sie.

4. 4Formal 'you' is written…

   A sie (small s) B Sie (capital S) C du D ihr
   Show answer

   Sie (capital S) — Formal Sie always keeps a capital S.

5. 5'ihr' means…

   A he B you (several, informal) C they D we
   Show answer

   you (several, informal) — ihr is the plural of du: 'you all', informally.

6. 6Which verb goes with 'du'?

   A bin B bist C ist D sind
   Show answer

   bist — du bist — the -st ending marks du.

7. 7'Das Mädchen ist jung. ___ geht zur Schule.'

   A Sie B Er C Es D Ihr
   Show answer

   Es — Mädchen is grammatically neuter (das), so the pronoun is es.

8. 8You meet a stranger in an office. You address them as…

   A du B ihr C Sie D es
   Show answer

   Sie — Use the formal Sie with people you do not know.

9. 9'sie sind' (small s, plural verb) means…

   A she is B you are (formal) C they are D we are
   Show answer

   they are — Lower-case sie + plural verb sind = they are.

10. 10Which pronoun replaces 'der Hund' (the dog)?

    A es B sie C er D ihr
    Show answer

    er — Hund is masculine (der), so er — grammatical gender, not animal sex.

11. 11Complete: Ich ____ müde. (verb 'to be')
    Check
    Show answer

    bin — ich bin — first person singular of sein.

12. 12Which sentence is correct?

    A Sie bist nett. B Du sind nett. C Ihr seid nett. D Wir bist nett.
    Show answer

    Ihr seid nett. — ihr seid is the right pronoun–verb pair; the others mismatch.

Recap cheat-sheet

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