A lesson about familiar and polite German pronouns
Familiar and Polite German Pronouns
In addition to the pronouns you have learned before , we have been presented with the following additional familiar and polite German pronouns :
| Ihnen | (to) you (2nd person singular, dative case) |
| ihr | you (2nd person, plural, nominative case) |
| sie | they (3rd person, plural, nominative case) |
| Sie | you (2nd person, singular, nominative case) |
| wir | we (1st person, plural, nominative case) |
In the conversations between friends presented previously , the familiar form of the personal pronouns (e.g., du, dir) was used . However, German also has a polite or formal form of some of these personal pronouns . The polite form is used in conversations between strangers and more formal situations .
The polite form is always first-letter capitalized in German , which can be helpful in differentiating Sie (you) from sie (she and they) ; Ihnen (you) from ihnen (them) . However , you will soon learn that the form of the verb (see below) is most telling , as shown by these example pairs using the verb , haben (have) :
| Do you have a cigarette?
(polite form of you) |
Haben Sie eine Zigarette? |
| She has no sausage and no cheese. | Sie hat keine Wurst und keinen Käse. |
| They have much work (to do). | Sie haben viel Arbeit. |
| Do they have too much work? | Haben sie zu viel Arbeit? |
Because the first letter in a sentence is always capitalized , we cannot determine (without the verb form) whether the second and third examples begin with sie (‘she’ or ‘they’) or with Sie (polite ‘you’) ; a problem that would also exist in conversation . The fourth example , where subject and verb are reversed in a question , demonstrates the pronoun ‘they’ ; compare it with the polite ‘you’ in the first example .
It is relatively easy for an English speaker to appreciate how context , especially in conversation , overcomes confusion considering that English has fewer forms for these pronouns than German . However , this fact does present some difficulty when learning German , since improper use of a pronoun may just create confusion in speaking or writing German .
A conversation between two businessmen :
Mr.Smith and Mr.Standish meet at headquarters :
- Herr Schmidt : Guten Morgen, Herr Standish! Wie geht es Ihnen ?
- Herr Standish : Danke sehr, es geht mir gut. Und Ihnen ?
- Herr Schmidt : Nicht so gut. Ich bin müde .
- Herr Standish : Wie bitte? Müde? Warum ?
- Herr Schmidt : Ich habe so viel Arbeit .
- Herr Standish : Das kann ich verstehen. Zu viel ist zu viel .
- Herr Schmidt : Das ist richtig. Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Standish !
- Herr Standish : Auf Wiedersehen, bis morgen .
Personal pronoun gender
In both English and German the 3rd person personal pronouns have gender . However , in English , the pronoun “it” is used for most inanimate or non-living things . There are a few exceptions : a ship might be referred to as “she” . However , in German , the 3rd person personal pronoun gender reflects the gender of the noun (antecedent) referred to by the pronoun . For examples :
| Der Kühlschrank ist fast leer. Er ist fast leer. | It (masculine) is almost empty . |
| Ich brauche die Wurst. Ich brauche sie. | I need it (feminine) . |
| Das Gespräch ist schwer. Es ist schwer. | It (neuter) is difficult . |
The following table summarizes these gender relationships :
