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The Pronoun

Pronouns: Gender by Jeffery Donley, Ph.D.

There are three genders of personal pronouns: the masculine er (“he”), the feminine sie (“she”), and the neuter es (“it”).

The endings of the third person singular and plural are similar to the equivalent case endings of the definite article. So the nominative pattern is der — er, die — sie, das — es. Accusative: den — ihn, die — sie, das — es. Dative: dem — ihm, der — ihr, dem — ihm, der — ihr, den — hnen, etc.

The pronoun “you” has three equivalents in German:

The du form (the familiar form in the singular) is used when you speak to a pet, a close friend, a child, or a member of the family.
When you speak to more than one person informally, use ihr, the plural of du.
When you speak to people you know only slightly or to people you do not know at all (either singular or plural) use Sie (the so-called formal address).

Before you change the form Sie to du, you must have a very private or close relationship with the person you are addressing. Use Sie if you are not sure which to use.

Exercise 1

Translate the declension of singular personal pronouns.

<tgroup cols="3" align="center"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="25%" align="left" rowsep="0" colsep="0"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="50%" align="left" rowsep="0" colsep="0"/> <colspec colname="col3" colnum="3" colwidth="25%" align="left" rowsep="0" colsep="0"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>1. Third Person Acc:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>inh</emphasis> _______________<emphasis>sie</emphasis></p></td> <td><p> _______________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><para/></td> <td><p><emphasis>es</emphasis> _______________</p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>2. First Person Gen:</p></td> <td><p>(meiner) _______________</p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>3. Second Person Dat:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>dir</emphasis> _______________</p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>4. First Person Nom:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>ich</emphasis> _______________</p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>5. Second Person Acc.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>dich _______________</emphasis></p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>6. Second Person Nom:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>du _______________</emphasis></p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>7. Third Person Nom:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>er</emphasis> _______________<emphasis>sie</emphasis></p></td> <td><p> _______________</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><para/></td> <td><p><emphasis>es</emphasis> _______________</p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>8. First Person Acc.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>mich</emphasis> _______________</p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>9. Second Person Gen:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>(deiner)</emphasis> _______________</p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>10. First Person Dat:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>mir</emphasis> _______________</p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>11. Third Person Gen:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>seiner</emphasis> _______________<emphasis>ihrer</emphasis></p></td> <td><p> _______________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><para/></td> <td><p><emphasis>seiner</emphasis> _______________</p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> <tr> <td><para/></td> <td><p><emphasis>ihm</emphasis> _______________<emphasis>ihr</emphasis> _______________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>12. Third Person Dat.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>ihm</emphasis> _______________<emphasis>ihr</emphasis></p></td> <td><p> _______________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><para/></td> <td><p><emphasis>ihm</emphasis> _______________</p></td> <td><para/></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <h2>Exercise 2</h2> <p>Translate the declension of plural personal pronouns.</p> <table frame="none" width="100%"> <title/> <tgroup cols="2" align="center"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="50%" align="left" rowsep="0" colsep="0"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="50%" align="left" rowsep="0" colsep="0"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>1. Second Person Acc:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>euch</emphasis> ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>2. Second Person Dat:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>euch</emphasis> ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>3. Third Person Gen:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>ihrer</emphasis> ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><para/></td> <td><p><emphasis>Ihrer</emphasis> (polite)_____________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>4. First Person Nom:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>wir</emphasis> ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>5. Third Person Acc:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>sie</emphasis> ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><para/></td> <td><p><emphasis>Sie</emphasis> (polite) ___________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>6. Second Person Nom:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>ihr</emphasis> ____</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>7. First Person Acc:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>uns</emphasis> ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>8. Third Person Nom:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>sie</emphasis> ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><para/></td> <td><p><emphasis>Sie (polite form)</emphasis> ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>9. First Person Gen:</p></td> <td><p>(<emphasis>unser</emphasis>) ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>10. Second Person Gen:</p></td> <td><p>(<emphasis>euer</emphasis>) ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>11. First Person Dat:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>uns</emphasis> ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>12. Third Person Dat:</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>ihnen</emphasis> ________</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><para/></td> <td><p><emphasis>Ihnen (polite)</emphasis> _________</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <h2>Exercise 3</h2> <p>You must modify the structure of the pronoun so that it agrees with the gender, case, and number of the noun it replaces. Pronouns are affected by the same rules as the nouns for which they stand.</p> <p>Some of the sentences have mistakes. Write the correct sentences on the lines.</p> <ul> <li><p>Er grüöt sie.</p> <p>________________________</p> </li> <li><p>Die Vater grüöt das Frau.</p> <p>________________________</p></li> <li> <p>Sie geht mit ihm.</p> <p>________________________</p> </li> <li><p>Der Sohn geht mit die Vater.</p> <p>________________________</p></li> </ul> <h2>Exercise 4</h2> <div class="npmo"><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/german-practice/track.jpg"><div class="npcp"><p>TRACK 9</p></div></div> <p>Listen to and translate the following German sentences. Each pronoun refers to a noun in the sentence above it.</p> <ul> <li><p>Der Teppich ist rot.</p> <p>____________________________________</p></li> <li><p>Er ist rot.</p> <p>____________________________________</p></li> <li><p>Der Vater sieht die Uhr.</p> <p>____________________________________</p></li> <li><p>Er sieht sie.</p> <p>____________________________________</p></li> <li><p>Die Frau gibt dem Kind einen Teddybären.</p> <p>____________________________________</p></li> <li><p>Sie gibt ihn ihm.</p> <p>____________________________________</p></li> </ul> <h2>Exercise 5</h2> <p>The grammatical gender, rather than the natural gender, determines the gender of the corresponding pronoun. An exception is that when you substitute a pronoun for das Mädchen, you use the feminine form of the personal pronoun, even though this word is of neuter gender.</p> <p>Read the sentences out loud and then match each sentence with its correct translation.</p> <table frame="none" width="100%"> <title/> <tgroup cols="2" align="center"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="50%" align="left" rowsep="0" colsep="0"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="50%" align="left" rowsep="0" colsep="0"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>1. <emphasis>Kennen Sie das Mädchen?</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>They are speaking with the boy.</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>2. <emphasis>Kennen Sie sie?</emphasis></p></td> <td><p>They are speaking with him.</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>3. <emphasis>Sie sprechen mit dem Jungen</emphasis>.</p></td> <td><p>Do you know her?</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>4. <emphasis>Sie sprechen mit ihm</emphasis>.</p></td> <td><p>Do you know the girl?</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table>  <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/german-practice/the-pronoun/" title="The Pronoun">The Pronoun</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/german-practice/the-pronoun/pronominal-compounds.htm" title="Pronominal Compounds">Pronominal Compounds</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/german-practice/the-pronoun/pronouns-gender.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Pronouns: Gender - German Practice </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/german-practice/the-pronoun/pronominal-compounds.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Pronominal Compounds - German Practice </a></li> <li><a href="http://german.about.com/library/blgen_das.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> German Gender Hints - Noun Gender - DAS </a></li> <li><a href="http://german.about.com/library/blgen_die.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> German Gender Hints - DIE </a></li> <li><a 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