One of the first things you need to learn in German will be the personal pronouns (in nominative). You will need them to build most sentences, and to conjugate the verbs.

When you start learning verbs, I recommend that you memorize the conjugation including the pronoun.

 

What is a pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun.

Ex: Peter has a car. -> He has a car. (“he” is a pronoun)

Ex: The car is blue. -> It is blue. (“it” is a pronoun)

 

The personal pronouns in German

Singular:

1st person  ich  = I

2nd person du   = you – addressing only one person informally (someone you’d address by their first name)

3rd person  er   = he (masculine person or object)

3rd person  sie  = she (feminine person or object)

3rd person  es   = it/they (neutral person or object)

NB: Objects in German are gendered and will be referred to as a he or she.
(ex. the table = der Tisch is masculine or the lamp = die Lampe is feminine)

On the other hand, only few people are referred to with a neutral pronoun: the child = das Kind, the baby = das Baby or the girl = das Mädchen

Plural:

1st person  wir  = we

2nd person ihr  = you – addressing more than one person informally (people you’d address by their first names)

3rd person  sie   = they – invariable for all three genders

Formal:

2nd person  Sie = you – addressing one or more people formally (formal pronouns are always capitalized)

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