German Personal Pronouns

Singular	Plural
Ich - I - "Ich" is used just like the English "I", however it is not capitalized except at the beginning of a sentence.	Wir - We - This is used the same as in English. It means we and is used to describe a group of people with the speaker included.
Du - Thou, You - This is equivalent to the English informal "thou" which means "you". It is informal and has fallen out of use. In German however, "du" is still used. One uses "du" with children or someone of a lesser age. Also, one would use "du" when addressing a close friend or someone that you use first names with. If used when "Sie" should be used, it can express contempt.	Ihr - "You guys", "Y'all" - These are the closest English translations. "Ihr" is the plural of "du" and is used when addressing a group of close friends with whom you are on a first name basis.
	Sie - You - "Sie" is used to address someone who is of older age or older social standing and also when talking to a group of people. You should always use "Sie" if you are unsure of which to use, "du" or "Sie". Also, "Sie" is always capitalized.
Er/Sie/Es - He/She/It - These mean he/she/it respectively and are used the same as in English.	Sie - They - This means they and is used the same as in English. It is not always capitalized except at the beginning of a sentence.

Now that we have learned about nouns, we will study personal pronouns. In other words, these are words that replace other nouns. An example in English is in the following few sentences: "Where is the dog? - It is behind you." Notice how in the second sentence, "the dog", a noun, was replaced by "it", a personal pronoun. This also occurs in German. Personal pronouns also include the everyday words we use such as "I" and "you". Because these words receive so much use, it is highly important that you learn them. Please memorize the chart for the basic ones and in the next paragraph I will explain some cultural differences.

You may have noticed that there are three different ways of saying "you". The informal versions are "du" and "ihr" and the formal version is "Sie". It is often difficult for beginners to know when to use each. Basically, if you are first meeting someone you will use "Sie". After you get to know the person, eventually it will become appropriate to use "du". This should only be used with close friends, children, and those that are younger than oneself. Also, "du" only refers to one person. "Ihr" is like "du" in being informal, but it means "you guys". One would use it to address a group of their close friends. Also, "Sie" is used both to address a single person formally and a group of people formally. In German, people usually tend to be more formal longer and will use "du" only after they have gotten to know you. There can be confusion from this however so take care. When using "du" in a situation where "Sie" should be used, it can show contempt or disrespect. Likewise, using "Sie" when "du" should be used will make you seem more formal and might show that you are pushing the person away.

Another important personal pronoun which I have elected to leave out of the above table is "man". It is used as a general word for "people". It can be translated as "one, they, you(being unspecific), people, someone, etc...". This word is usually used to make generalized assumptions. When placed on the above chart, "man" would fall in place with "er", "sie", and "es". Verbs would also be conjugated the same as for "er, sie, es".

L1: Grammar 3