German Pronouns

Pronouns must have the same gender as the noun they replace. However, remember that gender is determined not by reference to males, females, or inanimate objects but rather by the structure of the noun. Since some German masculine nouns are inanimate objects, the German masculine pronoun can mean it when referring to something inanimate, or it can mean he when referring to a male. The same thing occurs with feminine and neuter pronouns.

Pronouns are words that replace nouns to avoid repetition.
In German, pronouns change their form depending on case (Nominative, Accusative, Dative, Genitive).
Learning them is key to mastering German sentence structure.

1. Personal Pronouns (Personalpronomen)

These correspond to English I, you, he, she, it, we, they, etc.
They change depending on who is acting (subject) and the grammatical case.

Table: Personal Pronouns by Case

Examples

• Ich liebe dich. → I love you.

• Er gibt mir ein Buch. → He gives me a book.

• Wir sehen sie. → We see her / them.

2. Possessive Pronouns (Possessivpronomen)

These show possession or ownership — like my, your, his, her in English.
They change based on gender, number, and case of the noun they describe.

Table: Possessive Pronouns (Nominative Case)

Examples

• Mein Hund ist süß. → My dog is cute.

• Ihre Tasche ist rot. → Her bag is red.

• Unser Haus ist groß. → Our house is big.

3. Reflexive Pronouns (Reflexivpronomen)

Used when the subject and object are the same person —
like myself, yourself, himself, etc.

Table: Reflexive Pronouns

 Examples

• Ich wasche mich. → I wash myself.

• Sie freut sich. → She is happy (lit. “She rejoices herself”).

• Wir setzen uns. → We sit down.

4. Demonstrative Pronouns (Demonstrativpronomen)

Used to point out something specific — like this, that, those.

Common Words

Examples

• Dieser Stuhl ist bequem. → This chair is comfortable.

• Jene Frau ist Lehrerin. → That woman is a teacher.

• Ich nehme das. → I’ll take that.

5. Interrogative Pronouns (Fragepronomen)

Used to ask questions — equivalent to who, what, which, whose in English.

Common Interrogative Pronouns

6. Relative Pronouns (Relativpronomen)

These connect clauses, like who, which, that in English.

Table: Relative Pronouns (Nominative & Accusative)

Overall overview

Practise Examples:

🟥 Feminine Nouns — die

Examples:

• Die Dame ist freundlich. Sie hilft mir. → The lady is kind. She helps me.

• Die Zeitung ist interessant. Sie liegt auf dem Tisch. → The newspaper is interesting. It lies on the table.

🟨 Neuter Nouns — das

Examples:

• Das Mädchen ist klein. Es spielt draußen. → The girl is small. She is playing outside.

• Das Land ist schön. Es hat viele Berge. → The country is beautiful. It has many mountains.

🟩 Plural Nouns — die