German Grammar Explained /
Accusative pronouns
Just a little reminder: We use the accusative for direct objects and the nominative (the "normal case") for subjects.
Subject → Der Mann spielt Fußball. The man plays football. → Nominative
Direct Object → Ich sehe den Mann. I see the man. → Accusative
Personal pronouns can also change depending on the case.
To get a sense of what personal pronouns are, let's look at this very short story:
My brother lives in Berlin. My brother is married and has three children.
My brother's children go to school...
This could instead be written as follows.
My brother lives in Berlin. He is married and has three children.
His children go to school...
In German, er/sie/es are personal pronouns. Personal pronouns can change depending on the case.
Personal pronouns in accusative, Akkusativpronomen (singular)
ich | → | mich |
du | → | dich |
er | → | ihn |
sie | → | sie |
es | → | es |
ich
| →
| Du siehst mich.
You see me. |
du
| →
| Ich sehe dich.
I see you. |
er
| →
| Ich sehe ihn.
I see him. |
sie
| →
| Ich sehe sie.
I see her. |
es
| →
| Ich sehe es.
I see it. |
Reminder: objects in German have a gender, that means we have to respect that gender in the pronouns. Not all objects are es!
Let's look at some examples:
A: Wie findest du den Pullover?
B: Ich finde ihn schön.
A: Wie findest du die Hose?
B: Ich finde sie altmodisch.
A: Wie findest du das Auto?
B: Ich finde es zu teuer.
So what's missing? The plural of course!
Personal pronouns in accusative, Akkusativpronomen (plural)
wir | → | uns |
ihr | → | euch |
Sie (formal) | → | Sie |
sie (plural) | → | sie |
Accusative pronouns in the plural work just like they do in the singular:
Kommt uns besuchen!
Come visit us!
Ich habe euch schon lange nicht mehr gesehen.
I haven't seen you (plural) for so long.
Da sind unsere Freunde. Siehst du sie?
There are our friends. Do you see them?