Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Personal Pronoun


GermanEnglishPronounciation
IchIIsh
DuYouDuu
ErHeE ya
SieSheZee
EsItS


GermanEnglishPronounciation
Ich Spreche English.I speak englishSprich
Du spricht english.you speak englishSpriichst
Er Spricht english.He speaks English
Sie Spricht english.She speaks English
Spricht du English?Do you speak english?
Ich spreche kein english.I do not speak English
Du Spricht kein English.you do not speak English
Er Spricht kein english.He doesn’t speak English.
Sie Spricht kein english.She doesn’t speak English.

The pronouns listed below are in the nominative (subject) case. We will talk about their other forms and different cases in a later lesson. (Need help with grammar terms?
A special word about the "you" pronouns!

German, much more than English, makes a clear distinction between formal you (Sie) and familiar you (first name, du) in social situations. (Unlike English, most European and other languages also have both a formal and a familiar you.) In this regard, Germans tend to be more formal than English-speakers and use first names only after a long period of getting to know each other (sometimes years). This is a good example of how language and culture are intertwined, and you need to be aware of this to avoid embarassing yourself and others. In the table below, the familiar you forms (du, ihr) are marked with the abbreviation "fam." to distinguish them from the formal you (Sie).

NOTE: German has three different forms of sie! Often the only way to tell which one is meant is to notice the verb ending and/or the context in which the pronoun is used. Even the capitalized Sie (you, formal) is tricky if it appears at the beginning of a sentence. Lower-case sie can mean both "she" and "they": sie ist (she is), sie sind (they are).

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