Subject Pronouns in German

In Brief

German uses ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, and formal Sie as subject pronouns. They identify who or what the sentence is about, and the verb must agree with them: ich lerne, du lernst, wir lernen. German normally states the subject, so do not routinely leave out ich, du, or the other pronouns.

Overview

A pronoun is a short word that can stand in for a name or noun: instead of repeating Maria, you can say sie (“she”). A subject is the person or thing that performs an action or is described by the verb. In Wir lernen Deutsch (“We are learning German”), wir is the subject.

German subjects are in the nominative case. A case is a set of forms that helps show what job a word has in a sentence. At A1, the practical rule is simple: use the pronouns in this article when they are the subject. Other forms belong to other cases: ich is “I,” but mich is usually “me” as a direct object. Compare Ich sehe Anna (“I see Anna”) with Anna sieht mich (“Anna sees me”).

This system is important from your first German sentences because the subject controls the verb form. English gives you one general word, “you,” but German asks you to choose among informal singular du, informal plural ihr, and formal Sie. German also distinguishes three third-person singular pronouns—er, sie, es—and their use is connected to grammatical gender as well as natural gender.

How It Works

The complete nominative set

Person	German	Main English equivalent	Example
First person singular	ich	I	ich komme
Second person singular, informal	du	you	du kommst
Third person singular, masculine	er	he; it	er kommt
Third person singular, feminine	sie	she; it	sie kommt
Third person singular, neuter	es	it	es kommt
First person plural	wir	we	wir kommen
Second person plural, informal	ihr	you; you all	ihr kommt
Third person plural	sie	they	sie kommen
Second person singular or plural, formal	Sie	you	Sie kommen

First person means the speaker: ich or wir. Second person means the person or people addressed: du, ihr, or Sie. Third person refers to anyone or anything else: er, sie, es, or plural sie.

Match the verb to the pronoun

A verb is conjugated when its form changes to match its subject. The present tense of the regular verb lernen (“to learn”) shows the basic pattern:

Subject	Form	English
ich	lerne	I learn / I am learning
du	lernst	you learn / you are learning
er / sie / es	lernt	he / she / it learns
wir	lernen	we learn / we are learning
ihr	lernt	you all learn / are learning
sie / Sie	lernen	they learn / you learn

The groups are worth memorizing. Er, sie, and es share one verb form. Wir, plural sie, and formal Sie share another. Ihr has its own form, usually ending in -t.

Some essential verbs are irregular, so their forms must be learned separately. With sein (“to be”), for example, you say ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie/Sie sind. The agreement principle does not change: each pronoun still selects its matching form.

Choosing between du, ihr, and Sie

English “you” does not show number or level of formality. German does:

• Use du when speaking informally to one person.
• Use ihr when speaking informally to two or more people.
• Use Sie in formal or polite address, to one or more people.

Sie is always capitalized when it means formal “you,” and it takes the same verb form as sie meaning “they”: Sie wohnen, Sie haben, Sie sind. Capitalization and context keep the meanings apart.

The choice between informal and formal address depends on the relationship and setting, not simply on age. Family and friends normally use du; many workplaces and organized communities explicitly agree to use du as well. In customer service, official contact, and initial conversations between unfamiliar adults, Sie remains the safe choice unless someone invites you to use du.

Choosing er, sie, and es

For people, er usually means “he” and sie means “she.” For things and other nouns, the pronoun normally follows the noun’s grammatical gender—the noun class marked by der, die, or das:

Noun	Gender	Pronoun	Example
der Tisch (the table)	masculine	er	Er ist neu.
die Lampe (the lamp)	feminine	sie	Sie ist neu.
das Buch (the book)	neuter	es	Es ist neu.

This differs from English, which normally uses “it” for all three objects. The German pronoun reflects the German noun, not the object’s real-world sex. When learning a noun, learning it with der, die, or das helps you choose the right pronoun later.

Understanding sie and Sie

These forms look similar but do different jobs:

Form	Meaning	Verb pattern	Example
sie	she	third-person singular	Sie arbeitet heute.
sie	they	third-person plural	Sie arbeiten heute.
Sie	you, formal	same as third-person plural	Arbeiten Sie heute?

At the start of a sentence, “she” is also written Sie, because every sentence begins with a capital letter. You must then use the verb and context: Sie ist hier can mean “She is here,” while Sind Sie hier? means “Are you here?” Formal Sie stays capitalized even in the middle of a sentence: Kommen Sie morgen?

The subject does not have to come first

In a basic statement, German often uses subject–verb–rest order: Ich lerne heute Deutsch. But another element can take the first position. The finite verb—the conjugated verb carrying person and tense—still comes second, and the subject follows it:

• Heute lerne ich Deutsch. — Today I am learning German.
• In Berlin wohnt er bei Freunden. — In Berlin, he lives with friends.

Ich and er remain nominative subjects even though they are not the first words. Find the person or thing matched by the verb rather than assuming that position one always contains the subject.

German normally keeps subject pronouns

Like English, standard German generally requires an expressed subject:

• Ich bin müde. — I am tired.
• Er kommt aus Berlin. — He comes from Berlin.
• Wir lernen Deutsch. — We are learning German.

Do not copy the subject-dropping pattern of languages such as Spanish or Italian. A bare Bin müde may appear in a quick text message or diary-like note, but it is not the neutral full sentence a beginner should produce. Commands are different: Komm! (“Come!”) has an understood addressee and normally needs no du.

Examples in Context

German	English	Note
Ich bin müde.	I am tired.	ich with irregular bin
Du wohnst jetzt in Köln.	You live in Cologne now.	One person, informal
Er kommt aus Berlin.	He comes from Berlin.	Masculine singular subject
Sie arbeitet heute zu Hause.	She is working from home today.	Singular sie + arbeitet
Es ist schon spät.	It is already late.	Impersonal es
Wir lernen Deutsch.	We are learning German.	First-person plural
Ihr habt morgen frei.	You all have tomorrow off.	Several people, informal
Sie spielen jeden Freitag Tennis.	They play tennis every Friday.	Plural sie + spielen
Sprechen Sie Englisch?	Do you speak English?	Formal Sie in a question
Frau Weber, Sie sind als Nächste dran.	Ms. Weber, you are next.	Formal singular address
Kinder, seid ihr fertig?	Children, are you ready?	Informal plural ihr
Woher kommst du?	Where are you from?	Informal singular question
Heute kochen wir zusammen.	Today we are cooking together.	Subject follows the verb
Der Kaffee ist kalt. Er steht schon lange hier.	The coffee is cold. It has been here a long time.	der Kaffee is replaced by er
Die Tickets sind teuer, aber sie sind noch verfügbar.	The tickets are expensive, but they are still available.	Plural sie, regardless of noun gender

Common Mistakes

Using the English word “you” as one undivided category

• Wrong: Du seid sehr nett. (to several friends)
• Right: Ihr seid sehr nett.
• Why: Du addresses one person informally; ihr addresses several. The verb must change too: du bist, but ihr seid.

Giving formal Sie a singular verb

• Wrong: Sie kommt aus Kanada? (formal question to a customer)
• Right: Kommen Sie aus Kanada?
• Why: Formal Sie takes the same verb form as plural sie, even when only one person is addressed. The question also places the verb before the subject.

Writing formal Sie with a lowercase letter

• Wrong: Kann ich sie morgen anrufen? when “you” is intended
• Right: Kann ich Sie morgen anrufen?
• Why: Lowercase sie here means “her” or “them.” Formal Sie is capitalized in every position.

Choosing pronouns for objects by English logic

• Wrong: Die Tasche ist neu. Es ist teuer.
• Right: Die Tasche ist neu. Sie ist teuer.
• Why: Tasche is grammatically feminine (die Tasche), so the matching pronoun is sie, even though English calls a bag “it.” The adjective must also fit the intended noun: teuer describes die Tasche.

Leaving out the subject because the verb ending seems clear

• Wrong in neutral standard German: Lerne jeden Abend Deutsch. for “I study German every evening.”
• Right: Ich lerne jeden Abend Deutsch.
• Why: German verb endings carry information, but ordinary statements still normally express their subject. Without ich, the sentence may instead be read as an informal command in some contexts.

Treating the first word as the subject

• Wrong interpretation: In Heute arbeitet er zu Hause, taking heute as the subject
• Right: er is the subject: “Today he is working from home.”
• Why: German can put time, place, or another element first. The nominative pronoun may follow the verb.

Usage Notes

Informal and formal address are social choices

There is no perfect rule based only on “stranger,” “older person,” or “work.” Modern German-speaking environments vary. Sie is a respectful default in formal contact, but du is common online, in many younger workplaces, in sports clubs, and among students. If someone says Wir können uns duzen (“We can use du with each other”), you can switch to du. The verbs duzen and siezen mean to address someone with du and Sie, respectively.

When addressing a mixed group formally, use plural Sie. When addressing a group of friends, use ihr. Standard English does not force this distinction, so attach each German pronoun directly to a situation rather than translating “you” first.

Pronouns refer back to grammatical gender

German speakers regularly use er or sie for inanimate nouns. If someone asks Wo ist der Schlüssel?, a natural answer is Er liegt auf dem Tisch (“It is lying on the table”). For a plural noun, use plural sie regardless of its singular gender: Wo sind die Schlüssel? Sie liegen auf dem Tisch.

With people, natural gender often guides everyday reference, but grammatical gender can create special cases. Das Mädchen (“the girl”) is grammatically neuter because of the diminutive ending -chen. Traditional agreement allows es, especially close to the noun, while sie is very common when referring naturally to the girl as a person. Beginners do not need to force this edge case; simply recognize why both may occur.

Pronouns can be stressed for contrast

Subject pronouns are not optional in neutral German, but spoken stress can make them contrastive:

• ICH mache den Kaffee, DU deckst den Tisch. — I will make the coffee; you set the table.
• Sie kommt heute, aber ER kommt morgen. — She is coming today, but he is coming tomorrow.

The written pronoun does not change. Capital letters in the examples above only show strong spoken stress; normal spelling is ich, du, er.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following uses at A1, but they explain several patterns you will meet later.

Impersonal es

Es does not always replace a particular neuter noun. German uses an impersonal subject—a grammatical subject that does not name a specific actor—in weather and general conditions:

• Es regnet. — It is raining.
• Es wird kalt. — It is getting cold.
• Es ist wichtig, genug zu schlafen. — It is important to get enough sleep.

This resembles English “it,” although the two languages do not use it in exactly all the same places. In some German sentence patterns, es can disappear when another element occupies the first position: Heute wird es kalt, but Kalt wird es erst morgen. More advanced syntax determines whether es is obligatory, optional, or unavailable.

Generic man is not the pronoun for “a man”

German often uses man for people in general, similar to English “one,” generic “you,” or “people”:

• In Deutschland trinkt man viel Kaffee. — People drink a lot of coffee in Germany.

Although man functions as a nominative subject and takes a third-person singular verb, it is an indefinite pronoun rather than one of the personal pronouns in the core table. Do not confuse it with the noun der Mann (“the man”).

Coordinated subjects affect agreement

Two singular subjects joined by und normally create a plural subject:

• Lena und Amir kommen später. Sie arbeiten noch. — Lena and Amir are coming later. They are still working.
• Du und ich lernen zusammen. Wir haben morgen eine Prüfung. — You and I study together. We have an exam tomorrow.

When a group includes the speaker, it can later be referred to as wir. A group addressed directly is ihr informally or Sie formally.

Subject omission in restricted styles

Informal messages may omit first-person ich when the meaning is obvious: Bin gleich da! (“Be there soon!”) or Habe keine Zeit. (“No time.”). This is a conversational shortcut, not the basic grammar of complete standard sentences. Headlines, notes, and coordinated clauses may also omit material recoverable from context. Learn the full form first—Ich bin gleich da—and treat omission as a register choice you can recognize later.

Case changes the form, not the person

The same person can appear under a different pronoun form when its sentence role changes:

Role	First person singular	Example
Subject, nominative	ich	Ich sehe Paul. — I see Paul.
Direct object, accusative	mich	Paul sieht mich. — Paul sees me.
Indirect object, dative	mir	Paul hilft mir. — Paul helps me.

This is why “subject pronouns” and “nominative pronouns” point to the same set in this lesson. Later case lessons will add the matching object forms.

Practice Tips

1. Learn pronoun and verb as a pair. Say a short chain with one familiar verb: ich lerne, du lernst, er lernt, wir lernen, ihr lernt, sie lernen. Then repeat it with sein or haben. This trains agreement rather than isolated vocabulary.
2. Sort real people into the three kinds of “you.” Imagine speaking to one friend (du), several friends (ihr), one customer (Sie), and several customers (Sie). Build one question for each situation, such as Kommst du?, Kommt ihr?, and Kommen Sie?
3. Practice gender with the noun attached. Make cards such as der Schlüssel → er, die Zeitung → sie, and das Handy → es. Then say a second sentence with the pronoun: Das Handy ist neu. Es funktioniert gut.

Related Concepts

• Next step: Verb “sein” (Present) — learn the essential forms bin, bist, ist, sind, seid with each pronoun.
• Next step: Verb “haben” (Present) — practice another high-frequency verb whose form agrees with the subject.
• Next step: Regular Verbs (Present) — apply the standard present-tense endings to all nine pronoun uses.
• Related: Formal Address (Sie) — explore when Germans choose Sie rather than du or ihr.
• Next step: Verb “werden” (Present) — use werden for changes of state and later verb constructions.