Using Pronouns
Personal | The Use of Es | Reflexive | Dative Reflexive | Relative | Wer and Was | Interrorgative | Indefinite | Alles | Beide | Einer | Irgend- | Some and Others | Jeder | Solcher | Welcher | Whoever and Whatever | Demonstrative | Da and Hier | Neuter Dative | How to Solve Ambiguity | Dies | The one | The same (one) | Use of Welcher
In this lesson we learn how to use the different types of pronouns. Most attention will be focused on the indefinite and demonstrative pronouns.
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Personal Pronouns:
These are not to be confused with possessive adjectives, which are followed by a noun:
Mein Bleistift ist rot. - My pencil is red.
Dieser Bleistift ist meiner, der andere Ihrer. - This pencil is mine, the other yours.
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Es is used in many places where English has nothing:
Wir gehen zu Bett, und du solltest es auch. - We are going to bed, and you should too.
Man sagt, er ist dumm, und er ist es bestimmt. - They say he's dim, and he certainly is.
Es can act as an introductory word, like English there:
Es steht ein Tisch in der Ecke. - There is a table in the corner.
Es blies ein starker Wind. - There was a strong wind blowing.
Es can also be a sort of indeterminate object, omitted in English:
Sie haben es gut! - You are lucky!
Er meint es gut. - He means well.
Ich bin es satt. - I'm sick of it.
Es ist is more precise than es gibt for there is. You can use plural es sind whereas you could not say es geben; es gibt serves for there are also.
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Reflexive Pronouns:
The reflexive form of a pronoun must be used after a preposition when the pronoun refers to the subject:
Er hatte kein Geld bei sich. - He had no money on him.
Sie schloß die Tür hinter sich. - She closed the door behind her.
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The dative reflexive is idionmatically used as the dative of advantage:
Ich will mir den Wagen ansehen. - I'm going to have a look at the car.
Ich dachte mir, daß... - I thought to myself that...
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Relative Pronouns:
When relative pronoun which refers to a whole clause (ex: He collapsed, which shocked me) was is used:
Sie kommt immer spät, was mich ärgert. - She always comes late, which annoys me.
Er erhielt den Führerschein, was mich erstaunte. - He got his driving license, which astounded me.
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Wer and was can be used as compund relatives, this combines the subject and relative:
Wer wagt, gewinnt. - Who dares wins.
Was ich hatte, war nicht genug. - What I had wasn't enough.
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Interrogative Pronouns:
Although wer and was have no plural they can complement plural of sein:
Wer sind diese Leute? - Who are these people?
Was sind diese Dinge? - What are these things?
Wer and was may also be used as exclamations:
Wer hätte es geglaubt! - Who would have believed it!
Was du nicht sagst! - The things you say!
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Indefinite Pronouns:
Many adjectives and adverbs can be used as pronouns:
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Alles may be used as everything and alle to mean everyone:
Alles ist fertig. - Everything is ready.
Alle waren da. - Everyone was there.
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Adjective beide (both) is used as pronoun beides:
Ich hatte einen Fahrplan und eine Karte, und habe beides verloren. - I had a timetable and a map, and I've lost both of them.
Beides ist möglich. - Both things are possible.
Note: except with sind and waren all other verbs take a singular with beides.
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Einer can be a pronoun too:
Eine Tür war offen, und eine war zu. - One door was open, and one was closed.
Einer von uns ist schuldig. - One of us is guilty.
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The prefix iregend- may be used to strengthen several pronouns especially einer:
Iregendeiner muß es gemacht haben. - Somebody or other must have done it.
Iregendeiner seiner Freunde wird Ihnen seine Adresse geben. - Any of his friends will give you his address.
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Some and others can be Die einen...die anderen:
Die einen sind zufrieden, die anderen nicht. - Some are content, others are not.
or by einige...andere:
Einige blieben die ganze Nacht, andere gingen nach Hause. - Some stayed all night, others went home.
Einige in the plural is some or a few:
Nur einige sind hier. - Only a few are here.
As a neuter singular pronoun it means a certain amount or a few things:
Ich habe einiges gefunden. - I have found a certain amount.
Ich hatte noch einiges zu tun. - I still had a few things to do.
Note: A few may also be translated as ein paar, not to be confused with ein Paar (a pair) which has a capital:
Ich habe noch ein paar übring. - I've still got a few things left over.
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Jeder (each one), mancher (many a), mehrere (several) may be used as pronouns:
Jeder von Ihnen muß zehn Mark bezahlen. - Each of you must pay ten marks.
Manche wollten es nicht glauben. - Many people wouldn't believe it.
Ich hatte ihm mehreres zu sagen. - I had a few things to say to him.
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Solcher as a pronoun is rare, except as such:
Die Stadt als solche ist uninteressant, aber die Lage ist ganz einmalig. - The town as such is uninteresting, but its setting is quite unique.
Ich bin nicht gegen die moderne Musik als solche, sondern gegen ihre Anhänger. - I am not against modern music as such, but against its fans.
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Welcher is used as a pronoun widely with the meaning of some:
Hast du Zigaretten? Ja, ich habe welche. - Have you any cigarettes? Yes, I have some.
Ich brauche Geld - kannst du mir welches geben? - I need some money - can you give me any?
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Whoever or whatever may be rendered by adding auch or immer or auch immer to wer or was:
Wer es auch getan hat, er hatte unrecht. - Whoever did it, he was wrong.
Was auch geschieht, du kannst auf mich zählen. - Whatever happens, you can count on me.
Wer immer das gesagt hat, es ist falsch. - Whoever said that, it's not true.
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Demonstrative Pronouns:
The use of der is more for spoken than written. The gender is determined by the noun which it represents. In speech it is always stressed:
Der ist billig. - That one is cheap.
Die ist schön. - That one is beautiful.
Note: when the emphasis is needed for written, add spaces between the letters of the pronoun:
D e r ist billig.
D i e ist schön.
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Usage of der can be strengthened by da (there) or hier (here):
Der da ist zu klein. - That one is too small.
Die hier ist gut. - This one is good.
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Neuter dative dem is used as indefinite demonstrative for the following expressions:
Wie dem auch sei/Wie dem auch sein mag. - However that may be.
Dem sei, wie es wolle. - Be that as it may.
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Genitive dessen and deren are helpful in avoiding ambiguity.
Er verabschiedete sich von seinem Freund und dessen Schwester.
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Dieser is often shortened to dies with sein and a noun:
Dies ist meine Schwester. - This is my sister.
Dies sind meine Eltern. - These are my parents.
Note: with neuter nouns dieses is usually shortened to dies:
dies Buch - this book
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The one is derjenige, diejenige, and dasjenige. Der has the definite ending, but jenig has the weak declension:
Diejenigen, die am besten spielen, bekommen den Preis. - The ones who play best get the prize.
Note: this is thought to be considered ugly and pompous and should be avoided.
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The same (one) is derselbe, dieselbe, and dasselbe. Der has the definite ending and selbe has weak declension:
Sie ist immer dieselbe. - She is always the same.
Er sagt immer dasselbe. - He always says the same.
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Welcher should be avoided, but is helpful to avoid repeating der:
Ein Kleid, das ihr gehörte, welches sie aber nie getragen hatte... - A dress which belonged to her but which she had never worn...
may also be used as an interrogative pronoun and demonstrative adjective:
Welchen Wein willst du wählen? - Which wine would you like to choose?
Diese sind zwei gute Mannschaften. Welche wird gewinnen, meinen Sie? - These are two good teams. Which will win, do you think?
also used in explamations:
Welcher Unterscheid! - What a difference!
Welche Überraschung! - What a surprise!
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