In German, pronouns (Pronomen/Pronomina) are considered elements that replace nouns or noun phrases. Pronouns depend on gender (Genus: Feminin, Maskulin, Neutral) and case (Kasus: Nominativ, Akkusativ….)
In German, pronouns (Pronomen/Pronomina) are considered elements that replace a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns depend on gender (Genus: Feminin, Maskulin, Neutral), case (Kasus: Nominativ, Akkusativ….) and number (Numerus: Singular, Plural). Example: Ich kenne ihn. (ihn: Maskulin, Akkusativ, Singular). Today's article will introduce how to classify the types of pronouns in German.
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There are 7 common types of pronouns in German.
Personalpronomen Personal pronouns | ich, du, er, sie, es, Sie, wir, ihr, ihn, ihm | Personal pronouns replace a noun that has already been mentioned, and are used to talk about oneself or to address others. | 1. Ich habe eine Katze. Sie ist sehr niedlich. (I have a cat. It is very cute.) |
Possessivpronomen Possessive pronouns | dein-, mein-, sein-,..... | Possessive pronouns are used when you want to express ownership. | 1. Das ist mein Hut. (This is my hat.) 2. Ich suche meinen Hut. (I am looking for my hat.) |
Demonstrativpronomen Demonstrative pronouns | dieser, diese, dieser, jener, jene, jenes,...... | Demonstrative pronouns are used for emphasis, to precisely identify the object being referred to. | 1. Welches Auto möchten Sie kaufen, dieses [Auto] oder jenes [Auto]? (Which car do you want to buy, this one or that one?) 2. Hat sie einen neuen Freund? – Nein, es ist derselbe [Freund] wie neulich. (Does she have a new boyfriend? – No, it's the same person as the other day.) |
Relativpronomen Relative pronoun | der, die, das, welcher, welche, welches,...... | Used to replace a noun, noun phrase, or phrase in a relative clause. | 1. Er hatte einige Zaubersprüche, deren er sich nicht mehr ganz entsinnen konnte. (He had some magic spells that he could no longer quite remember.) 2. Die Frau, welcher der Hund gehört, hatte einen Autounfall. (The woman who owns the dog had a car accident.) |
Interrogativpronomen Interrogative pronoun | wer, was,.. | An interrogative pronoun replaces a noun or pronoun being referred to in an interrogative sentence. | 1. Wer hat das gesagt? (Who said that?) |
Reflexivpronomen Reflexive pronoun | sich, mich, dich,.... | Reflexive pronouns are used with reflexive verbs to talk about an action one does to oneself or an action one performs together with someone else. | 1. Ich dusche mich. (I shower.) 2. Ich putze mir die Zähne. (I brush my teeth.) |
Indefinitpronomen Indefinite pronoun | irgendwer, man, niemand, ……. | Used to generalize something or someone that has not been specified. | 1. Ich sollte jemanden anrufen. (I should call someone.) 2. Ich habe heute nichts zu tun. (I have nothing to do today.) |
In addition, there is a special pronoun that is not classified under the 7 types above: the pronoun es.
The pronoun es can replace a word, a part of a sentence, or an entire sentence. This pronoun is also used in fixed expressions, functioning as a dummy subject when the real subject performs an unspecified action. For example:
„Was macht unsere Tochter?" (What is our daughter doing?)
– „Ich weiß es nicht." (I don't know what our daughter is doing.)
→ „Es" replaces the entire sentence: Ich weiß nicht, was unsere Tochter macht.") to avoid repetition.
Knowledge test
Distinguishing types of pronouns in German
- 1.
Ich spiele mit meinen Freunden Wasserball. meinen là đại từ:
- 2.
Wir treffen uns morgen in der Schule. uns là: