German Personal Pronouns: Nominative
Personal pronouns are the short words that replace a person or a thing, and in German you choose them by the gender of the noun. In this lesson Luzi explains what a personal pronoun is, gives you all the nominative forms with examples, shows you how to replace a noun like KĂĽhlschrank with the right pronoun, and ends with a bonus tip about the little word es.
What Is a Personal Pronoun?
The word Personalpronomen has two parts. Personal means a person, and Pronomen comes from Latin: pro means for or before and nomen means noun. So a personal pronoun is a word that stands for a noun. It replaces a person or a thing.
In German the subject of a sentence is always in the nominative. The nominative is the original form, so these are the pronouns you use as the subject.
All Personal Pronouns in the Nominative
| German | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | ich | I |
| du | you | |
| er | he or it | |
| sie | she or it | |
| es | it | |
| Plural | wir | we |
| ihr | you (you guys, you all) | |
| sie | they | |
| Sie (capital S) | you, the formal version of du and ihr |
Careful: er, sie and es can mean “it” as well, because every German noun has a gender. And the capital Sie is the polite form of “you”.
Examples With People
- Ich heiĂźe Luzi. (My name is Luzi.)
- Du siehst YouTube. (You are watching YouTube.)
- Er spielt Basketball. (He plays basketball. Instead of saying Jack spielt Basketball you can use the pronoun.)
- Sie liest ein Buch. (She reads a book.)
- Es ist ruhig. (It is quiet.)
- Wir essen FrĂĽhstĂĽck. (We eat breakfast.)
- Ihr lernt Deutsch. (You guys are learning German.)
- Sie machen ein Spiel. (They play a game.)
How to Replace a Noun With the Right Pronoun
With things, the pronoun must match the gender of the noun. Luzi shows four examples with the verb sein (to be), which always goes with the nominative.
| Gender | Noun | Sentence with the noun | Sentence with the pronoun |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | der KĂĽhlschrank (fridge) | Der KĂĽhlschrank ist neu. | Er ist neu. (it is new) |
| feminine | die Tasche (bag) | Die Tasche ist schön. | Sie ist schön. (it is beautiful) |
| neuter | das Handy (mobile phone) | Das Handy ist alt. | Es ist alt. (it is old) |
| plural | die Stifte (pens) | Die Stifte sind praktisch. | Sie sind praktisch. (they are practical) |
In German we literally say “he is new” about the fridge, because Kühlschrank is a masculine noun. In English you say “it”.
Why Use Pronouns?
Pronouns make sentences shorter, and that is more natural. Switching between nouns and pronouns also improves the level of your German, so try not to repeat the same noun again and again.
Bonus Tip: The Word es Without a Noun
Sometimes there is no person or thing that can be the subject. In that case Germans use es as a kind of replacement subject. It works the same way in English.
- Es regnet. (It is raining.)
- Es ist spät. (It is late.)
- Es scheint die Sonne. (The sun is shining.)
What to Learn Next
Now continue with the other cases: personal pronouns in the accusative and personal pronouns in the dative. To see how the verb changes with each pronoun, watch German present tense: verbs and pronouns and the German present tense explained for beginners. The case itself is explained in what is the Nominativ.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the German personal pronouns in the nominative?
They are ich (I), du (you), er (he, it), sie (she, it), es (it), wir (we), ihr (you, plural), sie (they) and the formal Sie (you).
When do you use the nominative in German?
The subject of a sentence is always in the nominative. So the personal pronouns in the nominative are the ones you use as the subject, as in Ich heiĂźe Luzi.
How do you know whether to use er, sie or es for a thing?
Look at the gender of the noun. Masculine nouns like der KĂĽhlschrank become er, feminine nouns like die Tasche become sie, and neuter nouns like das Handy become es. Plural nouns become sie.
What is the difference between sie and Sie?
Small sie means “she” or “they”. Capital Sie is the formal version of “you”, used for du and ihr in polite situations.
What does es mean in sentences like Es regnet?
It is a replacement subject when there is no person or thing, as in English “It is raining”. Other examples are Es ist spät and Es scheint die Sonne.
Pronouns are the base for everything else in German grammar. In our A1 German online course you learn them chapter by chapter with videos, worksheets and answers to your questions.
