Personal pronouns in the nominative, accusative and dative
Learn the full set of pronouns (ich, mich, mir), how German says it for things, and where pronouns go in the sentence.
Pronouns · Elementary · 20 min · 40 exercises · Goethe A2, High school, College
English pronouns change with their job in the sentence: I see him, he sees me. German does the same, but with three sets instead of two: one for the nominative, one for the accusative and one for the dative. You already know the nominative set (ich, du, er...). Here are all three.
Personal pronouns in three cases
| Nominative | Accusative | Dative | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich | mich | mir | I, me, (to) me |
| du | dich | dir | you (one friend) |
| er | ihn | ihm | he, him, (to) him |
| sie | sie | ihr | she, her, (to) her |
| es | es | ihm | it, it, (to) it |
| wir | uns | uns | we, us, (to) us |
| ihr | euch | euch | you (several friends) |
| sie | sie | ihnen | they, them, (to) them |
| Sie | Sie | Ihnen | you (formal) |
Which case?
A pronoun takes the case that a noun would take in the same place. Subject: nominative. Er kommt heute. Direct object: accusative. Ich sehe ihn. Indirect object or object of a dative verb: dative. Ich gebe ihm ein Buch. Ich helfe ihm. English uses him for both objects; German separates ihn (accusative) from ihm (dative).
ihn (accusative)
- direct object
- ends like den
- Ich sehe ihn.
ihm (dative)
- indirect object, dative verbs
- ends like dem
- Ich helfe ihm.
Er, sie, es for things
English calls every thing it. German pronouns follow the grammatical gender of the noun: der Tisch is er (accusative ihn), die Lampe is sie, das Buch is es, and every plural is sie. Der Tisch ist neu. Er ist schön, und ich kaufe ihn.
Pronouns for things
- Der Tisch ist neu. Er ist sehr schön.The table is new. It is very nice.der Tisch: er
- Ich kaufe den Tisch. Ich kaufe ihn.I am buying the table. I am buying it.masculine accusative: ihn
- Wo ist die Tasche? Sie ist hier.Where is the bag? It is here.die Tasche: sie
- Das Buch ist interessant. Ich lese es heute.The book is interesting. I am reading it today.das Buch: es
- Die Schuhe sind zu klein. Ich nehme sie nicht.The shoes are too small. I am not taking them.plural: sie
- Der Kuchen schmeckt den Kindern. Er schmeckt ihnen.The children like the cake. They like it.den Kindern: ihnen
Word order: pronouns come first
A pronoun comes before a noun, whatever the case: Ich gebe ihm das Buch. Ich gebe es dem Kind. When both objects are pronouns, the accusative comes before the dative: Ich gebe es ihm. This is the opposite of two nouns, where the dative comes first.
The order of two objects
| Objects | Sentence | Order |
|---|---|---|
| two nouns | Ich gebe dem Kind das Buch. | dative, then accusative |
| dative pronoun + noun | Ich gebe ihm das Buch. | pronoun first |
| accusative pronoun + noun | Ich gebe es dem Kind. | pronoun first |
| two pronouns | Ich gebe es ihm. | accusative, then dative |
Wie geht es dir?
- Wie geht es dir?How are you? (to a friend)literally: how goes it to you
- Wie geht es Ihnen, Herr Vogel?How are you, Mr. Vogel?formal: Ihnen with a capital I
- Mir geht es gut, danke. Und dir?I am fine, thanks. And you?the answer is in the dative too
- Wie geht es euch?How are you all?
- Es geht uns sehr gut.We are doing very well.
The third-person pronouns end like the articles: der / er, den / ihn, dem / ihm, der (feminine dative) / ihr, den (dative plural) / ihnen. If you know dem, der, den, you already know ihm, ihr, ihnen. And wir and ihr are easy: uns and euch serve for both the accusative and the dative.
Do not say Ich bin gut for I am fine: German uses the dative, Mir geht es gut. Do not use es for every thing: der Kaffee is er and ihn, never es. And look closely at sie and ihr: sie can be she, her, they or them (and Sie with a capital is formal you), while ihr can be you all (nominative) or to her (dative). The verb ending and the context tell you which one it is.
The exercises of this lesson
40 corrected exercises in three sessions (discovery, practice, challenge): multiple choice (5), fill in the gap (11), find the mistake (5), word order (1), rewrite (5), translation (6), gap text (3), matching (2), sorting (2). Every answer is corrected immediately, with the rule that applies.