Learn German 11

German Grammar

There are a few words in the English language that evoke emotions of dread. Dentist is one, grammar is another. But here at Jiffy German, we don’t believe it has to be this way. The following guide will break German grammar up as simply as possible, while trying to remove the elements that make it every language students worst nightmare.

German Pronouns

Words that we use to describe people, or ourselves, are called pronouns. In English, the use of pronouns is simpler than in German. It is still rather straight foward in German, so don’t get too worried!

I
you (formal)
you (casual)
h e
she
they
w e
it

ich
sie
du
er
sie
sie
wir
es

You may be a bit surprised by what you see in the table above. You might be thinking, “Why are there two words for ‘you’?”. The reason for this is that sie is used in more formal situations and du is used when you are talking to a friend or someone you know. It used to be the same in English, however the use of words such as “thee” and “thou” ceased some time ago.

So when do you know when to use “sie” and “du”? If you are meeting someone for the first time, it is usual to use “sie” until they tell you otherwise. It is also recommended to use with people such as doctors, teachers, police etc etc. Once you get to know someone, feel free to use “du”.

German Nouns

Nouns are things. Examples include computer, pen, stapler etc etc. While learning about nouns is normally a matter of memory, in German, nouns have a bit of a twist.

You see, every noun in German has a gender attached to it. So a noun can either be masculine, feminine, or neuter. While some things make sense, the vast majority are completely random. This can make it difficult to learn. How is a beginner supposed to know that wine is masculine and beer is neuter? All you can do is learn each nouns gender as you learn the noun itself.