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GCSE

Pronouns
Understanding how to use pronouns in place of nouns,
and which case to put them in, will enable you to add
variety to your German and will help you to communicate
more effectively.
Part of German Grammar

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Present tense

Future tense
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Perfect tense

Personal pronouns Imperfect tense

Here are the German personal pronouns:
Conditional tense

Modal verbs

Negatives

Infinitive constructions

Word order

Nouns

Pronouns

Numbers

Adjectives and adverbs

Cases
German English

ich I Prepositions

du you (singular, informal)

Conjunctions
er he

sie she

es it

wir we

ihr you (plural, informal)

Sie you (singular or plural, formal)

sie they

Unlike English, German has three words for ‘you’. It is Struggling to get your
important to use them correctly so that you do not offend head round revision or
anyone:
exams?
du is singular - use du for one friend or relative, someone
Our tips from experts and exam
you know well
survivors will help you through.
ihr is plural - use ihr for several friends or relatives,
people you know well
Get advice here
Sie is formal and can be singular or plural - use Sie for
people you do not know or when you have to be
respectful to them
Links
Remember that the formal Sie (you) always has a capital
letter. It sets it apart from sie with a lower case letter, Personalise your
which can mean either ‘she’ or ‘they’. Some people think Bitesize!
that it has a capital letter to make it stand out from the Sign in, choose your
rest, as it is a more respectful and formal form of you. To GCSE subjects and
remember the capital letter, think of it as the VIP of see content that's
pronouns. tailored for you.

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Digital dialects
The different words for ‘you’ are so important that
German has the verbs sich dutzen, which means ‘to call Loecsen
each other du’ and sich siezen, which means ‘to call
Fast Past Papers
each other Sie’.

So in a conversation with a good friend and a teacher

you could say, ‘Ich dutze dich, aber ich sieze Sie’, which
means ‘I call you you (du), but call you you (Sie)’.

If you get to know someone you used to call Sie a bit

better, they may invite you to call them du by saying
Wir konnen uns jetzt dutzen - 'we can call each other
you (du) now'.

It's illegal in Germany to use the informal form du

when speaking to a policeman. You're expected to use
the formal Sie. If you get it wrong, you could be fined
up to 600 €.

Students in German-speaking countries call their teachers 'Sie'

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Glossary

GCSE Subjects
Art and Design Biology (Single Science) Business Chemistry (Single Science)
Combined Science Computer Science Design and Technology Digital Technology (CCEA)
Drama English Language English Literature French
Geography German History Home Economics: Food and
Nutrition (CCEA)
Hospitality (CCEA) ICT Irish – Learners (CCEA) Journalism (CCEA)
Learning for Life and Work Mandarin Maths Maths Numeracy (WJEC)
(CCEA)
Media Studies Modern Foreign Languages Moving Image Arts (CCEA)
Music Physical Education Physics (Single Science) PSHE and Citizenship
Religious Studies Science Sociology Spanish
Welsh Second Language (WJEC)

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