Familie: direct object pronouns, singular and plural | German

Starter quiz

Match the singular subject pronouns to their English meanings.

ich

⇔

I ✓

du

⇔

you ✓

er

⇔

he, it ✓

es

⇔

it ✓

man

⇔

one, you, people ✓

sie

⇔

she, it ✓
Which of these pronouns does not mean 'you'?

Sie

du

es ✓

ihr
Match the verbs to their English meanings.

akzeptieren

⇔

to accept, accepting ✓

tragen

⇔

to wear, to carry ✓

treiben

⇔

to drive, to pursue ✓

kennen

⇔

to know, knowing ✓

unterstützen

⇔

to support, supporting ✓

vorbereiten

⇔

to prepare, preparing ✓
Identify the object in the following sentence: 'Er schreibt ein Buch.'

er

schreibt

ein Buch ✓
Which of these sentences use the accusative case?

Ich habe einen Ball. ✓

Wir präsentieren das Essen. ✓

Er ist Schweizer.

England ist in Großbritannien.

Die Städte sind modern aber ruhig.
Which of these words have the same [r] sound as in 'Freund'?

treiben ✓

vier

mir

Mutter

rennen ✓

Exit quiz

Match the German vocabulary below to the correct English translations.

der Rollstuhl

⇔

wheelchair ✓

der Zuschauer

⇔

spectator ✓

die Treppe

⇔

stairs, stairway ✓

überall

⇔

everywhere ✓

der Star

⇔

celebrity, headliner ✓

im Großen und Ganzen

⇔

by and large, in general ✓
An [r] makes a rolling sound at the back of the throat ...

at the beginning of a word. ✓

at the end of a word.

at the beginning of a syllable. ✓

after a consonant. ✓

after a long vowel.
Match the direct object pronouns to their English meanings.

mich

⇔

me ✓

uns

⇔

us ✓

ihn

⇔

him, it ✓

sie

⇔

her, it ✓

es

⇔

it ✓

Sie

⇔

you (formal) ✓
Replace the person's name in the following sentence with a direct object pronoun: 'Ich kenne Toni Kroos nicht.'

'ihn' ✓
'Wir sehen sie'. The direct object pronoun 'sie' here could refer to ...

a female person (her). ✓

several people (them). ✓

the jackets (them). ✓

you (formal).

the jacket (it). ✓
What is the accusative (object) form of the pronoun 'man'?

'einen' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

We use direct object pronouns to replace a noun that is the object or 'receiver' of the verb.
Direct object pronouns are: mich-me, dich-you, ihn-him, it, sie-she,it, es-it, uns-us, euch-you, Sie-you and sie-them.
Consonantal [r] makes a rolling sound at the beginning of a word or syllable and after a consonant.
Vocalic [r] has a gentle ‘ah’ sound after after a long vowel sound, in prefixes -er and -ver, and at the end of words.

Common misconception

Subject pronouns 'er' and 'sie' and object pronouns 'ihn' and 'sie' can only refer to people.

Subject pronouns 'er' and 'sie' can mean 'he' and 'she' or they can refer to masculine and feminine nouns, meaning 'it'. The same is true for the object pronouns 'ihn' and 'sie', which can mean 'him' and 'her' but also 'it'.

Keywords

Consonantal [r] - pronounced with a rolling sound, as in ‘Freund’
Vocalic [r] - pronounced with a gentle ‘ah’ sound, as in ‘Uhr’
Direct object pronoun - replaces the noun receiving the action of the verb, e.g., me, you, it, them