Modern German Grammar: A Practical Guide, Second Edition

V Pronouns

30 Pronoun reference and forms

30.1 German pronouns preserve the gender and number (singular or plural) of the nouns to
which they refer. For example:

Der Tisch ist zu klein. > Er ist zu klein.

The table is too small. > It is too small.

Die Tür ist auf. > Sie ist auf.

The door is open. > It is open.

Das Fenster ist zu. > Es ist zu.

The window is closed. > It is closed.

Die Fenster sind zu. > Sie sind zu.

The windows are closed. > They are closed.

However, the case of the pronoun depends on its role in the sentence:

Der Tisch war teuer. Wir haben ihn nicht gekauft. Er war aber

schön.

The table was expensive. We didn’t buy it. But it was nice.

30.2 The personal pronoun system is set out below. Note that there is a formal and a
familiar second person mode of address (see 60.1), and that the second person formal
is identical for the singular and the plural.

 See also 37.2 (p. 87) for reflexive pronouns.

(a) The nominative forms are:

Singular Plural

First person ich ‘I’ wir ‘we’

Second person (familiar) du ‘you’ ihr ‘you’

Third person er, sie, es ‘he, she, it’ sie ‘they’

Second person (formal) Sie ‘you’ Sie ‘you’