Personal pronouns in the accusative and dative
The full table of German personal pronouns in the accusative (direct object) and dative (indirect object) — with one pattern that makes them stick.
German personal pronouns change form with their case. In the accusative (the direct object) and the dative (the indirect object), they look like this:
| meaning | nominative | accusative | dative |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | ich | mich | mir |
| you (sg.) | du | dich | dir |
| he | er | ihn | ihm |
| she | sie | sie | ihr |
| it | es | es | ihm |
| we | wir | uns | uns |
| you (pl.) | ihr | euch | euch |
| they / you (formal) | sie / Sie | sie / Sie | ihnen / Ihnen |
The case is chosen by the verb or preposition: sehen (to see) takes the accusative, while helfen (to help) and geben (to give, the receiver) take the dative. Notice that wir and ihr keep the same form in both cases (uns, euch).
Examples
Grammatical analysisBase form ichCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberSingular (singular)Person1st person singular (ich)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form sehenPerson1st person singular (ich)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form duCaseAkkusativ (accusative)NumberSingular (singular)Person2nd person singular (du)Checked deterministically before build.
I see you.
Grammatical analysisBase form könnenPerson2nd person singular (du)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form duCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberSingular (singular)Person2nd person singular (du)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form ichCaseDativ (dative)NumberSingular (singular)Person1st person singular (ich)Checked deterministically before build helfen?
Can you help me?
Grammatical analysisBase form ichCaseNominativ (nominative)NumberSingular (singular)Person1st person singular (ich)Checked deterministically before build Grammatical analysisBase form gebenPerson1st person singular (ich)TensePräsens (present)Checked deterministically before build ihm das Buch.
I give him the book.
Common mistakes
helfen takes the dative, so it is dir, not dich.
The receiver is the indirect object, so it takes the dative: mir.
Related topics
- der, die, das: gender and the definite article (Nominativ)
- sein and haben: the two essential irregular verbs
- German definite article declension: der/die/das in all four cases
- German Subject Pronouns: ich, du, er/sie/es — and du vs Sie
- German possessive articles: mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer (ein-word endings)
- Accusative prepositions: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um
- German Reflexive Verbs: sich freuen & sich waschen (Accusative vs Dative)
- Reflexive pronouns: accusative vs. dative (mich vs. mir)
Practice
Kannst du ___ helfen?
Ich sehe ___.
Ich gebe ___ das Buch.