Personal Pronouns and "sein"
Learn the nine German personal pronouns and the most important verb in the language, "sein" (to be). By the end you can say who you are, where you are from and how you feel.
The nine personal pronouns
Every German sentence needs a subject, and the smallest possible subjects are the personal pronouns. German has nine, and they map closely to English: ich (I), du (you, informal singular), er (he), sie (she), es (it), wir (we), ihr (you, informal plural), sie (they) and Sie (you, formal).
Two details deserve attention right away. First, ich is written with a small letter unless it starts the sentence — unlike English I. Second, the little word sie does triple duty: it can mean she, it can mean they, and with a capital S it is the polite form of you. Only the verb form and the situation tell you which one is meant. That sounds confusing on paper, but in real sentences it is almost always clear, as the examples below show.
Ich bin Anna.
I am Anna.
Sie ist Ärztin.
She is a doctor.
sie with a singular verb form means "she".
Sie sind müde.
They are tired.
The same word with a plural verb form means "they" — or formal "you".
The verb "sein": to be
The verb sein means to be, and it is completely irregular — its forms look nothing like the infinitive, just as am, is and are look nothing like be. Because you will use it in almost every conversation, these six forms are worth memorising before anything else: ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist, wir sind, ihr seid, sie sind. The formal Sie takes the same form as they: Sie sind.
Notice that er, sie and es always share one form (ist), and that wir, sie (they) and formal Sie always share another (sind). This pairing repeats with every verb in German, so learning it here pays off later. Say the forms out loud in a rhythm — bin, bist, ist, sind, seid, sind — until the pattern feels automatic.
Ich bin müde.
I am tired.
Du bist sehr nett.
You are very nice.
Er ist aus Spanien.
He is from Spain.
Wir sind zu Hause.
We are at home.
Ihr seid laut.
You are loud.
ihr = you, speaking to more than one person informally.
Sie sind Lehrer.
They are teachers.
Could also mean "You are a teacher" (formal) — context decides.
du, ihr or Sie?
English has one word for you; German has three, and choosing the right one is a social skill as much as a grammar rule. Use du for one person you know well: family, friends, children, fellow students. Use ihr for several people you would each call du. Use Sie — always capitalised — for adults you do not know, for officials, doctors, shop staff and colleagues you have just met. Sie is both singular and plural: one stranger or five strangers, the word stays the same.
When in doubt, start with Sie. Germans switch to du by offering it, often with the phrase "Wir können du sagen" — until then, staying formal is polite, never rude. In exams and official situations, Sie is always the safe choice.
Du bist lustig.
You are funny.
To a friend.
Ihr seid zu spät.
You are too late.
To two or more friends.
Sie sind sehr freundlich, Frau Weber.
You are very friendly, Mrs Weber.
Formal — note the capital S.
What you can already say
With the pronouns and sein alone, you can introduce yourself and describe people and things. The pattern is always the same: subject first, form of sein second, then the information — a name, a place, a profession or a feeling.
One small difference from English: with professions, German drops the article. You say Ich bin Ingenieurin, literally "I am engineer", not "an engineer". You will also hear Das ist ... ("That is ...") constantly when people introduce others — a very useful day-one phrase. Practise by describing yourself and the people around you: name, origin, job, mood. Three words at a time is enough at this stage; correct and confident beats long and wrong.
Ich bin Paula Schmidt.
I am Paula Schmidt.
Ich bin Ingenieurin.
I am an engineer.
No article before professions.
Wir sind aus Portugal.
We are from Portugal.
Das ist Tom.
That is Tom.
Check yourself
Quick checks on this lesson. Get at least three quarters right to mark it as completed.
Which form of "sein" goes with "wir"?
Practise what you learned