There are several different types of pronoun:What is a pronoun? A pronoun is a word you use instead of a noun, when you do not need or want to name someone or something directly, for example, it, you, none.
There are several different types of pronoun:
For more information on Reflexive verbs, see page 102.
Pronouns often stand in for a noun to save repeating it.
I finished my homework and gave it to my teacher.
Do you remember Jack? I saw him at the weekend.
Word order with personal pronouns is usually different in German and English.
What is a subject pronoun?
A subject pronoun is a word such as I, he, she and they. It refers to the person or thing which performs the action expressed by the verb. Pronouns stand in for nouns when it is clear who is being talked about, for example: My brother isn’t here at the moment. He’ll be back in an hour.
Here are the German subject pronouns or personal pronouns in the nominative case:
| Subject Pronoun (Nominative Case) | Meaning |
| ich | I |
| du | you (familiar) |
| er | he/it |
| sie | she/it |
| es | it/he/she |
| man | one |
| wir | we |
| ihr | you (plural) |
| sie | they |
| Sie | you (polite) |
| Ich fahre nächste Woche nach Italien. | I’m going to Italy next week. |
| Wir wohnen in Frankfurt. | We live in Frankfurt. |
For more information on the Nominative case, see page 9.
du, ihr or Sie?
In English we have only one way of saying you. In German, there are three words: du, ihr and Sie. The word you use depends on:
Use the familiar du if talking to one person you know well, such as a friend, someone younger than you or a relative
| Kommst du mit ins Kino? | Are you coming to the cinema? |
Use the formal or polite Sie if talking to one person you do not know so well, such as your teacher, your boss or a stranger.
| Was haben Sie gesagt? | What did you say? |
Tip
If you are in doubt as to which form of you to use, it is safest to use Sie and you will not offend anybody. However, once a colleague or acquaintance has suggested you call each other du, starting to use Sie again may be considered insulting.
Use the familiar ihr if talking to more than one person you know well or relatives.
| Also, was wollt ihr heute Abend essen? | So, what do you want to eat tonight? |
Use Sie if talking to more than one person you do not know so well.
| Wo fahren Sie hin? | Where are you going to? |
Tip
Use Sie in more formal situations for both the singular and plural you.
Tip
All of the subject pronouns only have a capital letter when they begin a sentence, except for the polite form of you, Sie, which always has a capital letter.
| Ich gebe dir das Buch zurück, wenn ich es zu Ende gelesen habe. | I’ll give you the book back when I’ve finished reading it. |
| Du kannst mich morgen besuchen, wenn du Zeit hast. | You can come and visit me tomorrow, if you have time. |
| Wir wären Ihnen sehr dankbar, wenn Sie uns telefonisch benachrichtigen würden. | We’d be very grateful if you could phone and let us know. |
Er/sie/es
In English we generally refer to things (such as table, book, car) only as it. In German, er (meaning he), sie (meaning she) and es (meaning it) are used to talk about a thing, as well as about a person or an animal. You use er for masculine nouns, sie for feminine nouns and es for neuter nouns.
| Der Tisch ist groß. |  |
Er ist groß. |
| The table is large. | |
It is large. |
| Die Jacke ist blau. | |
Sie ist blau. |
| The jacket is blue. | |
It is blue. |
| Das Kind stand auf. | |
Es stand auf. |
| The child stood up. | |
He/she stood up. |
Note that English speakers often make the mistake of calling all objects es.
The subject pronoun sie (meaning they) is used in the plural to talk about things, as well as people or animals. Use sie for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns.
| „Wo sind Michael und Sebastian?” – | “Where are Michael and Sebastian?” – |
| „Sie sind im Garten.” | “They’re in the garden.” |
| „Hast du die Karten gekauft?” – | “Did you buy the tickets?” – |
| „Nein, sie waren ausverkauft.” | “No, they were sold out.” |
Man
This is often used in German in the same way as we use you in English to mean people in general.
| Wie schreibt man das? | How do you spell that? |
| Man kann nie wissen. | You never know. |
Man can also mean they used in a vague way.
| Man sagt, dass das Wetter immer schlecht ist. | They say the weather is always bad. |
Man is often used to avoid a passive construction in German.
| Man hat das schon oft im Fernsehen gezeigt. | It’s already been shown a lot on TV. |
For more information on the Passive, see page 150.
The form of the verb you use with man is the same as the er/sie/es form.
For more information on Verbs, see page 91.
Key points
The German subject pronouns are: ich, du, er, sie, es, Sie and man in the singular, and wir, ihr, sie and Sie in the plural.
To say you in German, use du if you are talking to one person you know well or to a child; use ihr if you are talking to more than one person you know well and use Sie if you are talking to one or more people you do not know well.
Er/sie/es (masculine/feminine/neuter singular) and sie (masculine or feminine or neuter plural) are used to refer to things, as well as to people or animals.
Man can mean you, they or people in general. It is often used instead of a passive construction.
Personal pronouns: direct object
What is a direct object pronoun?
A direct object pronoun is a word such as me, him, us and them which is used instead of the noun to stand in for the person or thing most directly affected by the action expressed by the verb.
Direct object pronouns stand in for nouns when it is clear who or what is being talked about, and save having to repeat the noun.
I’ve lost my glasses. Have you seen them?
“Have you met Jo?”– “Yes, I really like her!”
Here are the German direct object pronouns in the accusative case:
| Direct Object Pronoun | Meaning |
| (Accusative Case) | |
| mich | me |
| dich | you (familiar) |
| ihn | him/it |
| sie | her/it |
| es | it/him/her |
| einen | one |
| uns | us |
| euch | you (plural) |
| sie | them |
| Sie | you (polite) |
| Ich lade dich zum Essen ein. | I’ll invite you for a meal. |
| Sie hat ihn letztes Jahr kennengelernt. | She met him last year. |
Word order with direct object pronouns
In tenses consisting of one verb part only, for example the present and the simple past, the direct object pronoun usually comes directly AFTER the verb.
| Sie bringen ihn nach Hause. | They’ll take him home. |
In tenses such as the perfect that are formed with haben or sein and the past participle, the direct object pronoun comes AFTER the part of the verb that comes from haben or sein and BEFORE the past participle.
| Er hat mich durchs Fenster gesehen. | He saw me through the window. |
When a modal verb like wollen (meaning to want) or können (meaning to be able to, can) is followed by another verb in the infinitive (the to form of the verb), the direct object pronoun comes directly AFTER the modal verb.
| Wir wollen Sie nicht mehr sehen. | We don’t want to see you anymore. |
For more information on Modal verbs, see page 136.
Key points
The German direct object pronouns are: mich, dich, ihn, sie, es, Sie and einen in the singular, and uns, euch, sie and Sie in the plural.
The direct object pronoun usually comes directly after the verb, but in tenses like the perfect it comes after the part of the verb that comes from haben or sein and before the past participle.
When a modal verb such as wollen is followed by the infinitive of another verb, the direct object pronoun comes directly after the modal verb.
Personal pronouns: indirect object
What is an indirect object pronoun?
When a verb has two objects (a direct one and an indirect one), the indirect object pronoun is used instead of a noun to show the person or thing the action is intended to benefit or harm, for example, me in He gave me a book; Can you get me a towel?
Using indirect object pronouns
It is important to understand the difference between direct and indirect object pronouns, as they have different forms in German:
an indirect object answers the question who to? or who for? and to what? or for what?
He gave me a book. Who did he give the book to? me (=indirect object pronoun)
Can you get me a towel? Who can you get a towel for? me (=indirect object pronoun)
if something answers the question what? or who?, then it is the direct object and NOT the indirect object
He gave me a book What did he give me? a book (=direct object)
Can you get me a towel? What can you get me? a towel (=direct object)
Here are the German indirect object pronouns in the dative case:
| Er hat mir das geschenkt. | He gave me that as a present. |
| Sie haben ihnen eine tolle Geschichte erzählt. | They told them a great story. |
Word order with indirect object pronouns
Word order for indirect object pronouns is the same as for direct object pronouns. The pronoun usually comes directly after the verb, except with tenses like the perfect and modal verbs such as wollen.
| Sie bringt mir das Schwimmen bei. | She’s teaching me how to swim. |
| Sie hat es ihm gegeben. | She gave it to him. |
| Ich will dir etwas sagen. | I want to tell you something. |
When you have both a direct object pronoun AND an indirect object pronoun in the same sentence, the direct object pronoun or personal pronoun in the accusative always comes first. A good way of remembering this is to think of the following:
PAD = Pronoun Accusative Dative
| Sie haben es ihm verziehen. | They forgave him for it. |
| Ich bringe es dir schon bei. | I’ll teach you. |
Key points
The German indirect object pronouns are: mir, dir, ihm, ihr, ihm, Ihnen and einem in the singular, and uns, euch, ihnen and Ihnen in the plural.
The indirect object pronoun comes after the verb, except with tenses like the perfect and when used with modal verbs such as wollen.
The indirect object pronoun always comes after the direct object pronoun.
Personal pronouns: after prepositions
When a personal pronoun is used after a preposition and refers to a person, the personal pronoun is in the case required by the preposition. For example, the preposition mit is always followed by the dative case.
| Ich bin mit ihm spazieren gegangen. | I went for a walk with him. |
When a thing rather than a person is referred to, da- is added at the beginning of the preposition:
| Manuela hatte ein Messer geholt und wollte damit den Kuchen schneiden. | Manuela had brought a knife and was about to cut the cake with it. |
Note that before a preposition beginning with a vowel, the form dar- + preposition is used.
The following prepositions are affected in this way:
| Preposition | Preposition + da or dar |
| an | daran |
| auf | darauf |
| aus | daraus |
| bei | dabei |
| durch | dadurch |
| für | dafür |
| in | darin |
| mit | damit |
| nach | danach |
| neben | daneben |
| über | darüber |
| unter | darunter |
| zwischen | dazwischen |
For more information on Prepositions, see page 153.
Note that these combined forms are also used after verbs followed by prepositions.
| sich erinnern an + accusative case = | to remember |
| Ich erinnere mich nicht daran. | I don’t remember (it). |
After certain prepositions used to express movement, that is aus (meaning out or from), auf (meaning on) and in (meaning in or into), combined forms with hin and her are used to give more emphasis to the action being carried out.
| Er ging die Treppe leise hinauf. | He went up the stairs quietly. |
| Endlich fand sie unser Zelt und kam herein. | She finally found our tent and came inside. |
| Sie öffnete die Reisetasche und legte die Hose hinein. | She opened the bag and put in her trousers. |
Key points
When a personal pronoun referring to a person is used after a preposition, the personal pronoun is in the case required by the preposition.
When a personal pronoun referring to a thing is used after a preposition, the construction da(r)- + preposition is used.
What is a possessive pronoun?
In English you can say This is my car or This car is mine. In the first sentence my is a possessive adjective. In the second, mine is a possessive pronoun.
A possessive pronoun is one of the words mine, yours, hers, his, ours or theirs, which are used instead of a noun to show that one thing or person belongs to another, for example, Ask Carol if this pen is hers.
German possessive pronouns are the same words as the possessive adjectives mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, ihr, Ihr, with the same endings, EXCEPT in the masculine nominative singular, the neuter nominative singular and the neuter accusative singular, as shown below.
| Possessive Adjective |
Meaning | Possessive Pronoun |
Meaning | |
| Masculine Nominative Singular |
Das ist mein Wagen |
That is my car |
Dieser Wagen ist meiner |
That car is mine |
| Neuter Nominative Singular |
Das ist mein Buch |
That is my book |
Dieses Buch ist meins |
That book is mine |
| Neuter Accusative Singular |
Sie hat mein Buch genommen |
She has taken my book |
Sie hat meins genommen |
She has taken mine |
Here is the German possessive pronoun meiner, meaning mine, in all its forms:
| Case | Masculine Singular |
Feminine Singular |
Neuter Singular |
All Genders Plural |
| Nominative | meiner | meine | mein(e)s | meine |
| Accusative | meinen | meine | mein(e)s | meine |
| Genitive | meines | meiner | meines | meiner |
| Dative | meinem | meiner | meinem | meinen |
Note that the nominative and accusative neuter forms only of all the possessive pronouns are often pronounced without the last -e, for example meins instead of meines.
| Der Wagen da drüben ist meiner. | The car over there is mine. |
| Er ist kleiner als deiner. | It is smaller than yours. |
| Das ist besser als meins! | That’s better than mine! |
| Das Haus nebenan ist schöner als seins. | The house next door is nicer than his. |
| Meine Jacke war teurer als ihre. | My jacket was more expensive than hers. |
Note that deiner, meaning yours (familiar), seiner, meaning his/its, ihrer, meaning hers/its/theirs, Ihrer, meaning yours (polite), unserer, meaning ours and euerer, meaning yours (plural familiar) have the same endings as meiner.
Tip
Unserer, meaning ours is often pronounced unsrer and euerer, meaning yours (plural familiar) is often pronounced eurer. This pronunciation is occasionally reflected in writing.
| Case | Masculine Singular |
Feminine Singular |
Neuter Singular |
All Genders Plural |
| Nominative | uns(e)rer | uns(e)re | uns(e)res | uns(e)re |
| Accusative | uns(e)ren | uns(e)re | uns(e)res | uns(e)re |
| Genitive | uns(e)res | uns(e)rer | uns(e)res | uns(e)rer |
| Dative | uns(e)rem | uns(e)rer | uns(e)rem | uns(e)ren |
| Case | Masculine Singular |
Feminine Singular |
Neuter Singular |
All Genders Plural |
| Nominative | eu(e)rer | eu(e)re | eu(e)res | eu(e)re |
| Accusative | eu(e)ren | eu(e)re | eu(e)res | eu(e)re |
| Genitive | eu(e)res | eu(e)rer | eu(e)res | eu(e)rer |
| Dative | eu(e)rem | eu(e)rer | eu(e)rem | eu(e)ren |
| War euer Urlaub billiger als unsrer? | Was your holiday cheaper than ours? |
Note the translation of of mine, of yours etc, where the personal pronoun in the dative is used:
| Er ist ein Freund von mir. | He is a friend of mine. |
| Ich habe eine CD von dir bei mir zu Hause. | I have a CD of yours at home. |
Key points
German possessive pronouns have the same form and endings as the possessive adjectives mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, ihr, Ihr, except in the masculine nominative singular, the neuter nominative singular and the neuter accusative singular.
The nominative and accusative neuter forms of all the possessive pronouns are often pronounced without the last -e, for example meins instead of meines.
Unserer, meaning ours is often pronounced unsrer and euerer, meaning yours (plural familiar) is often pronounced eurer. This pronunciation is occasionally reflected in writing.
What is an indefinite pronoun?
An indefinite pronoun is one of a small group of pronouns such as everything, nobody and something which are used to refer to people or things in a general way without saying exactly who or what they are.
In German, the indefinite pronouns jemand (meaning someone, somebody) and niemand (meaning no-one, nobody) are often used in speech without any endings. In written German, the endings are added.
| Case | Indefinite Pronoun |
| Nominative | jemand/niemand |
| Accusative | jemanden/niemanden |
| Genitive | jemand(e)s/niemand(e)s |
| Dative | jemandem/niemandem |
| Ich habe es jemandem gegeben. | I gave it to someone. |
| Jemand hat es genommen. | Someone has taken it. |
| Sie hat niemanden gesehen. | She didn’t see anyone. |
| Ich bin unterwegs niemandem begegnet. | I didn’t meet anyone on the way. |
Tip
If you want to express the sense of somebody or other, use irgendjemand which is declined like jemand.
| Ich habe es irgendjemandem gegeben. | I gave it to somebody or other. |
The indefinite pronoun keiner has the same endings as the article kein, keine, kein except in the nominative masculine and nominative and accusative neuter forms, and can be used to refer to people or things. When referring to people it means nobody, not … anybody or none and when referring to things, it means not … any or none.
| Case | Masculine Singular |
Feminine Singular |
Neuter Singular |
All Genders Plural |
| Nominative | keiner | keine | keins | keine |
| Accusative | keinen | keine | keins | keine |
| Genitive | keines | keiner | keines | keiner |
| Dative | keinem | keiner | keinem | keinen |
The indefinite pronoun einer (meaning one) only has a singular form and can also be used to refer to people or things.
| Case | Masculine Singular |
Feminine Singular |
Neuter Singular |
| Nominative | einer | eine | ein(e)s |
| Accusative | einen | eine | ein(e)s |
| Genitive | eines | einer | eines |
| Dative | einem | einer | einem |
| Sie trifft sich mit einem ihrer | She’s meeting one of her old |
| alten Studienfreunde. | friends from university. |
Ich brauche nur einen (e.g. einen Wagen, einen Pullover etc) OR
Ich brauche nur eine (e.g. eine Blume, eine Tasche etc) OR
Ich brauche nur eins (e.g. ein Buch, ein Notizbuch etc) I only need one.
Key points
Jemand and niemand can be used without endings in spoken German but have endings added in written German.
Keiner has the same endings as the article kein, keine, kein except in the nominative masculine and nominative and accusative neuter forms, and refers to people or things.
Einer only has a singular form and refers to people or things.
What is a reflexive pronoun?
A reflexive pronoun is an object pronoun such as myself, yourself, himself, herself and ourselves that forms part of German reflexive verbs like sich waschen (meaning to wash) or sich setzen (meaning to sit down). A reflexive verb is a verb whose subject and object are the same and whose action is ‘reflected back’ to its subject.
German reflexive pronouns have two forms: accusative (for the direct object pronoun) and dative (for the indirect object pronoun), as follows:
| Er hat sich rasiert. | He had a shave. |
| Du hast dich gebadet. | You had a bath. |
| Ich will es mir zuerst überlegen. | I’ll have to think about it first. |
Note that unlike personal pronouns and possessives, the polite forms have no capital letter.
| Setzen Sie sich bitte. | Please take a seat. |
| Nehmen Sie sich ruhig etwas Zeit. | Take your time. |
The reflexive pronoun usually follows the first verb in the sentence, with certain exceptions:
| Sie wird sich darüber freuen. | She’ll be pleased about that. |
| Darüber wird sie sich freuen. | She’ll be pleased about that. |
| Ich frage mich, ob sie sich darüber freuen wird. | I wonder if she’ll be pleased about that. |
For more information on Word order, see page 175.
For more information on Reflexive verbs, see page 102.
Unlike English, reflexive pronouns are also used after prepositions when the pronoun ‘reflects back’ to the subject of the sentence.
| Er hatte nicht genug Geld bei sich. | He didn’t have enough money on him. |
| Hatten Sie nicht genug Geld bei sich? | Didn’t you have enough money on you? |
Another use of reflexive pronouns in German is with transitive verbs where the action is performed for the benefit of the subject, as in the English phrase: I bought myself a new hat. The pronoun is not always translated in English.
| Ich hole mir einen Kaffee. | I’m going to get (myself) a coffee. |
| Sie hat sich eine neue Jacke gekauft. | She bought (herself) a new jacket. |
Reflexive pronouns are usually used in German where each other and one another would be used in English.
| Wir sind uns letzte Woche begegnet. | We met (each other) last week. |
Note that einander, (meaning one another, each other), which does not change in form, may be used instead of a reflexive pronoun in such cases.
| Wir kennen uns schon. OR | |
| Wir kennen einander schon. | We already know each other. |
After prepositions, einander is always used instead of a reflexive pronoun. The preposition and einander are then joined to form one word.
| Sie redeten miteinander. | They were talking to each other. |
In English, pronouns used for emphasis are the same as normal reflexive pronouns, for example, I did it myself. In German selbst or, in informal spoken language, selber are used instead of reflexive pronouns for emphasis. They never change their form and are always stressed, regardless of their position in the sentence:
| Ich selbst habe es nicht gelesen, aber … | I haven’t read it myself, but … |
Key points
German reflexive pronouns have two forms: accusative for the direct object pronoun and dative for the indirect object pronoun.
Reflexive pronouns are also used after prepositions when the pronoun ‘reflects back’ to the subject of the sentence.
Reflexive pronouns are usually used in German where each other or one another would be used in English, but einander can be used as an alternative and is always used after prepositions.
Selbst or, in informal spoken German, selber are used instead of reflexive pronouns for emphasis.
What is a relative pronoun?
In English a relative pronoun is one of the words who, which and that (and the more formal whom). These pronouns are used to introduce information that makes it clear which person or thing is being talked about, for example, The man who has just come in is Ann’s boyfriend; The vase that you broke was quite valuable.
Relative pronouns can also introduce further information about someone or something, for example, Peter, who is a brilliant painter, wants to study art; Jane’s house, which was built in 1890, needs a lot of repairs.
In German the most common relative pronouns der, den, dessen, dem etc have the same forms as the definite article, except in the dative plural and genitive singular and plural. They are declined as follows:
| Case | Masculine Singular |
Feminine Singular |
Neuter Singular |
All Genders Plural |
| Nominative | der | die | das | die |
| Accusative | den | die | das | die |
| Genitive | dessen | deren | dessen | deren |
| Dative | dem | der | dem | denen |
Relative pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun to which they refer, but the case they have depends on their function in the relative clause. The relative clause is simply the part of the sentence in which the relative pronoun appears. Relative clauses are ALWAYS separated by commas from the rest of the sentence.
| Der Mann, den ich gestern gesehen habe, kommt aus Zürich. | The man that I saw yesterday comes from Zürich. |
| Das Mädchen, dessen Fahrrad gestohlen worden ist. | The girl whose bike was stolen. |
In English we often miss out the object pronouns who, which and that. For example, we can say both the friends that I see most, or the friends I see most, and the house which we want to buy, or the house we want to buy. In German you can NEVER miss out the relative pronoun in this way.
| Die Frau, mit der ich gestern gesprochen habe, kennt deine Mutter. | The woman I spoke to yesterday knows your mother. |
Note that the genitive forms are used in relative clauses in much the same way as in English, but to translate one of whom, some of whom use the following constructions.
| Das Kind, dessen Fahrrad gestohlen worden war, fing an zu weinen. | The child whose bicycle had been stolen started to cry. |
| Die Kinder, von denen einige schon lesen konnten, … | The children, some of whom could already read, … |
| Meine Freunde, von denen einer … | My friends, one of whom … |
Grammar Extra!
When a relative clause is introduced by a preposition, the relative pronoun can be replaced by wo- or wor- if the noun or pronoun it stands for refers to an object or something abstract. The full form of the pronoun plus preposition is much more common.
| Das Buch, woraus ich vorgelesen habe, gehört dir. | |
| OR | |
| Das Buch, aus dem ich vorgelesen habe, gehört dir. | The book I read aloud from belongs to you. |
In German wer and was are normally used as interrogative pronouns (meaning who? and what?) to ask questions. They can also be the subject of a sentence or a relative pronoun. For example, he who, a woman who, anyone who, those who etc.
| Wer das glaubt, ist verrückt. | Anyone who believes that is mad. |
| Was du gestern gekauft hast, steht dir ganz gut. | The things you bought yesterday really suit you. |
Note that was is the relative pronoun used in set expressions with certain neuter forms. For example:
| alles, was … | everything which |
| das, was … | that which |
| nichts, was … | nothing that |
| vieles, was … | a lot that |
| wenig, was … | little that |
| Nichts, was er sagte, hat gestimmt. | Nothing that he said was true. |
| Das, was du jetzt machst, ist unpraktisch. | What you are doing now is impractical. |
| Mit allem, was du gesagt hast, sind wir einverstanden. | We agree with everything you said. |
Key points
The most common relative pronouns der, den, dessen, dem etc have the same forms as the definite article, except in the dative plural and genitive singular and plural.
Relative pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun to which they refer, but take their case from their function in the relative clause.
In German you can NEVER miss out the relative pronoun, unlike in English.
Relative clauses are always separated by commas from the rest of the sentence.
Wer and was are normally used as interrogative pronouns but can also be the subject of a sentence or a relative pronoun.
What is an interrogative pronoun?
This is one of the words who, whose, whom, what and which when they are used instead of a noun to ask questions, for example, What’s happening?; Who’s coming?
Wer and was only have a singular form.
| Case | Persons | Things |
| Nominative | wer? | was? |
| Accusative | wen? | was? |
| Genitive | wessen? | – |
| Dative | wem? | – |
| Wer hat es gemacht? | Who did it? |
| Mit wem bist du gekommen? | Who did you come with? |
| Wo ist der Kugelschreiber, mit dem du es geschrieben hast? | Where is the pen you wrote it with? |
| Ich weiß nicht, wer es gemacht hat. | I don’t know who did it. |
| Sie wollte wissen, mit wem sie fahren sollte. | She wanted to know who she was to travel with. |
Interrogative pronouns with prepositions
When used with prepositions, was usually becomes wo- and is combined with the preposition to form one word. Where the preposition begins with a vowel, wor- is used instead.
| Wodurch ist es zerstört worden? | How was it destroyed? |
| Worauf sollen wir sitzen? Es gibt keine Stühle. | What should we sit on? There aren’t any chairs. |
Was für ein?, welcher?
These are used to mean what kind of …? and which one? and are declined like the definite article.
| „Er hat jetzt ein Auto” – | “He has a car now.” - |
| „Was für eins hat er gekauft?“ | “What kind (of one) did he buy?” |
| Welches hast du gewollt? | Which one did you want? |
For more information on Words declined like the definite article, see page 31.
They can refer to people or things and require the appropriate endings.
Für welchen (e.g. welchen Job, welchen Whisky etc) hat sie sich entschieden? OR
Für welches (e.g. welches Haus, welches Buch etc) hat sie sich entschieden? OR
Für welche (e.g. welche Person, welche Jacke etc) hat sie sich entschieden?
Which one did she choose?
Key points
The interrogative pronouns wer and was can be used for direct and indirect questions and only have a singular form.
When used with prepositions, was becomes wo-, or wor- when the preposition begins with a vowel.
Was für ein? and welcher? are used to mean what kind of …? and which one?