Personal pronouns
refer to the speaker(s), e.g. "I" or "we" refer to the person(s) addressed: you or stand in place of nouns or noun phrases, e.g.
refer to the speaker(s), e.g. "I" or "we"
refer to the person(s) addressed: you
or stand in place of nouns or noun phrases, e.g.
Ich lerne Deutsch. (I am learning German.) Wir lernen Deutsch. (We are learning German.) Du lernst Deutsch. (You are learning German.) Ihr lernt Deutsch. (You are learning German.) Lernen Sie Deutsch, Frau Herzog? (Are you learning German, Mrs. Herzog?) Mein Freund besucht euch morgen. (My friend is going to visit you tomorrow.) Ich habe Ralf und seine Freunde nicht gesehen. (I haven’t seen Ralf and his friends.) -> Ich habe sie nicht gesehen. (I haven't seen them.) Anna besucht ihren Bruder. (Anna is visiting her brother.) -> Anna besucht ihn. (Anna is visiting him.)
Ich lerne Deutsch. (I am learning German.)
Wir lernen Deutsch. (We are learning German.)
Du lernst Deutsch. (You are learning German.)
Ihr lernt Deutsch. (You are learning German.)
Lernen Sie Deutsch, Frau Herzog? (Are you learning German, Mrs. Herzog?)
Mein Freund besucht euch morgen. (My friend is going to visit you tomorrow.)
Ich habe Ralf und seine Freunde nicht gesehen. (I haven’t seen Ralf and his friends.) -> Ich habe sie nicht gesehen. (I haven't seen them.)
Anna besucht ihren Bruder. (Anna is visiting her brother.) -> Anna besucht ihn. (Anna is visiting him.)
Note I: "er" and "sie" usually refer to persons.
Mein Bruder lernt Deutsch. (My brother is learning German.) -> Er lernt Deutsch. (He is learning German.)
However, they can also substitute masculine or feminine nouns or noun phrases, e.g.
Schokolade (f): Schokolade hat viele Kalorien. (Chocolate has a lot of calories.) -> Sie hat viele Kalorien. (It has a lot of calories.) Rucksack (m): Der alte Rucksack ist schwer. (The old rucksack is heavy.) -> Er ist schwer. (It is heavy.)
Schokolade (f): Schokolade hat viele Kalorien. (Chocolate has a lot of calories.) -> Sie hat viele Kalorien. (It has a lot of calories.)
Rucksack (m): Der alte Rucksack ist schwer. (The old rucksack is heavy.) -> Er ist schwer. (It is heavy.)
Note II: The formal "you" ("Sie", no matter whether you talk to one person or to more than one person) is used when addressing
strangers or people with whom you are not on a first-name basis or people whom you would like to show some respect or people to whom you wish to maintain a certain distance.
strangers or
people with whom you are not on a first-name basis or
people whom you would like to show some respect or
people to whom you wish to maintain a certain distance.
in the dative
2nd person singular, informal
2nd person singular, formal
Sie
Ihnen
sie
es
ihr
ihm
2nd person plural, informal
2nd person plural, formal
Be careful: When “man” is used in a sentence, it cannot subsequently be replaced by “er” or “sie”, e.g. Man sollte nichts versprechen, was man nicht halten kann. (One shouldn’t make promises one can’t keep.)