GCSE German · Words and sentences

Pronouns

Ich, mich, mir: pronouns in each case, man, jemand and niemand, wer, wen and wem, and the plural object pronouns at Higher.

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Pronouns, explained point by point

Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.

  1. Learn the subject pronouns

    ich I, du you, er he, sie she, es it, man one, wir we, ihr you (several), sie they, Sie you (polite). Er, sie and es also mean it, matching the noun's gender: Der Film? Er ist gut.

  2. Use the accusative pronouns for the direct object

    mich me, dich you, ihn him or it, sie her or it, es it: Ich sehe ihn, Kennst du mich? Ihn is the masculine it as well: Der Rock? Ich kaufe ihn.

  3. Use the dative pronouns for the indirect object

    mir (to) me, dir (to) you, ihm (to) him, ihr (to) her, Ihnen (to) you (polite): Gib mir das Buch, Ich helfe ihr, Das gefällt mir.

  4. Use man, jemand and niemand

    Man is one or people in general, with the er form: Man darf hier nicht rauchen. Jemand is someone and niemand no one: Jemand hat angerufen. As objects they become jemanden and niemanden: Ich kenne niemanden.

  5. Ask who with wer, wen and wem

    Wer asks about the subject (Wer kommt?), wen about the direct object (Wen siehst du?) and wem about the dative (Wem gehört das?, Mit wem gehst du?).

  6. Use the plural object pronouns and put two objects in orderHigher only

    Plural: uns, euch, sie, Sie (accusative); uns, euch, ihnen, Ihnen (dative). With two nouns, the dative comes first: Ich gebe dem Kind das Buch. A pronoun goes before a noun: Ich gebe ihm das Buch, Ich gebe es dem Kind.

Pronouns key terms

The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.

Pronoun
A word that stands for a noun: er, sie, ihn, ihm.
Subject pronoun
The pronoun for who does the action: ich, du, er, wir.
Object pronoun
The pronoun for who an action is done to or for: mich, mir, ihn, ihm.
man
One, you or people in general, with the er form: Man sagt, ....
wer, wen, wem
Who, in the nominative, accusative and dative.

Common mistakes in Pronouns

The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.

  • Using es for every it, as in Der Film? Es ist gut.

    It matches the noun's gender: der Film, so er.

  • Using mich after a dative verb, as in Das gefällt mich.

    Gefallen and helfen take the dative: Das gefällt mir.

  • Confusing ihr you (several) with ihr her, as in Ich helfe sie.

    To help her is dative: Ich helfe ihr.

  • Writing Wer hast du gesehen?

    For a direct object, who is wen, as in Wen hast du gesehen? for who did you see.

Practice

Try a Pronouns question

A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.

Which word completes the question? ___ gehört das Handy? (Who does the phone belong to?)

  1. Wer
  2. Wen
  3. Wem
  4. Was
Show the answer and the working

Answer: Wem

Gehören takes the owner in the dative, so 'who' is wem: Wem gehört das Handy?

  1. Gehören takes the dative for the owner.
  2. 'Who' in the dative is wem.
  3. Wem gehört das Handy?: Who does the phone belong to?

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