I. Concept
Object pronouns are used to show which noun is the recipient of the verb’s action. Pronouns are used only when the noun they represent has been previously mentioned or is understood by context. German makes distinctions between the object pronoun and the subject pronoun in a similar way as English does.Consider the following examples:
| A: Hast du Anna gefragt? B: Nein, Ich frage sie jetzt. Did you ask (verb) Anna (object)? No, I will ask her (object pronoun) now. |
Here, we see where German and English differ; German has different subject and object pronouns, “du” and “dich”, whereas English uses “you” as both the subject and the object.
| Wo bist du? Ich kann dich nicht finden. Where are you (subject)? I cannot find you (object). |
Further Examples:
| Ich sehe dich. Du siehst mich. I see you. You see me. Wir lieben sie. Sie lieben uns. We love them. They love us. Sie lädt ihn ein. Er lädt sie ein. She invites him. He invites her. |
Singular | Plural | |
First Person | mich | uns |
Second Person | dich | euch |
Third Person/Formal | ihn, sie, es, man | sie, Sie |
As you can see in the chart above, some of the pronouns keep the same form when they are the subject and the object- like in English with “you”. The context will usually show their role in the sentence.
Examples:
| Das Unternehmen hat sie gefeuert. The company fired her. Er hat es verkauft. He sold it. Ich habe ein paar Fragen für Sie. I have a few questions for you. |
II. Object pronouns and Prepositions
Various prepositions trigger the accusative case and thus are followed by object pronouns. A detailed list of which prepositions are followed by the accusative and when are discussed in another lesson.Examples:
| Das Geschenk ist für dich. The gift is for you. Ohne mich kannst du es nicht schaffen. Without me, you can’t do it. Ihr spielt gegen uns. You all are playing against us. |