Personal pronouns replace a noun and refer to people, things, or groups that are already known or clearly identified in the sentence. As the subject they are in the nominative and take over the sentence role of the noun, for example as the acting or described instance. For forms and case relationships, pronouns, Nominative, Accusative and Dative are the most important foundations.

In the nominative the personal pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, you (plural), they, and you (formal). They stand as the subject and agree with the verb in person and number, with the verb form always requiring the third-person plural. The form 'sie' can, depending on context, refer to 'she' in the sense of 'she is', refer to 'they' in the sense of 'they are', or refer to 'Sie' as the polite address.

IdeeIdea	BeispielExample
Ich steht im Nominativ als Subjekt.I stand in the nominative as the subject.	Ich lerne.I learn.
Du steht im Nominativ als Subjekt.You stand in the nominative as the subject.	Du lernst.You learn.
Er steht im Nominativ als Subjekt.He stands in the nominative as the subject.	Er sieht mich.He sees me.
Sie steht im Nominativ als Subjekt.She stands in the nominative as the subject.	Sie kommt.She comes.
Es steht im Nominativ als Subjekt.It stands in the nominative as the subject.	Es regnet.It rains.
Wir steht im Nominativ als Subjekt.We stand in the nominative as the subject.	Wir arbeiten.We work.
Ihr steht im Nominativ als Subjekt.You (plural) stand in the nominative as the subject.	Ihr kommt.You (plural) come.
Sie steht im Nominativ als Subjekt.They stand in the nominative as the subject.	Sie wohnen hier.They live here.
Sie steht im Nominativ als höfliche Anrede.The form 'sie' stands in the nominative as the polite form of address.	Sie helfen mir.You help me.

In the accusative and dative, personal pronouns change their form depending on the sentence function, for example 'mich' and 'mir', 'dich' and 'dir', 'ihn' and 'ihm', as well as 'uns' and 'euch'. These forms appear as objects and follow the rules of case interaction, as described in case interactions. If a pronoun replaces a noun, it still remains in the same case role that the sentence requires.

IdeeIdea	BeispielExample
Der Akkusativ markiert das direkte Objekt.The accusative marks the direct object.	Er sieht mich.He sees me.
Der Dativ markiert das indirekte Objekt.The dative marks the indirect object.	Sie hilft mir.She helps me.
Die Form mich gehört zum Akkusativ.The form mich belongs to the accusative.	Er kennt mich.He knows me.
Die Form mir gehört zum Dativ.The form mir belongs to the dative.	Er vertraut mir.He trusts me.
Die Form ihn gehört zum Akkusativ.The form ihn belongs to the accusative.	Ich rufe ihn an.I call him.
Die Form ihm gehört zum Dativ.The form ihm belongs to the dative.	Ich gebe ihm das Buch.I give him the book.
Die Form uns kann Akkusativ oder Dativ sein.The form uns can be accusative or dative.	Sie besucht uns.They visit us.
Die Form euch kann Akkusativ oder Dativ sein.The form euch can be accusative or dative.	Ich schreibe euch.I write to you all.

In the German sentence, personal pronouns normally stand before nominal objects, and when two pronouns occur together, the accusative is usually before the dative. As the subject, nominative pronouns can replace a noun and thereby take on the first important sentence role, while reflexive forms stay bound to the verb and appear in the sentence in the same position as other objects. This order is especially important when personal pronouns meet with [Reflexive pronouns], [Possessive pronouns], or [Demonstrative pronouns].

IdeeIdea	BeispielExample
Pronomen stehen oft vor einem Nomen als Objekt.Pronouns often stand before a noun as an object.	Ich sehe ihn heute.I see him today.
Der Akkusativ steht vor dem Dativ.The accusative stands before the dative.	Sie gibt ihn mir.She gives him to me.
Zwei Pronomen folgen der Pronomenfolge.Two pronouns follow the pronoun order.	Er erklärt es uns.He explains it to us.
Ein Pronomen kann ein Nomen als Subjekt ersetzen.A pronoun can replace a noun as the subject.	Der Lehrer kommt. Er wartet.The teacher comes. He waits.
Das reflexive Pronomen steht beim Verb.The reflexive pronoun stands with the verb.	Ich wasche mich.I wash myself.
Betonung kann mit selbst oder allein verstärkt werden.Emphasis can be strengthened with 'selbst' or 'allein'.	Ich selbst komme.I myself come.

The forms 'mich', 'mir' and 'sich' also serve as reflexive forms for verbs that refer back to the subject. The impersonal 'it' is a placeholder without semantic reference, as in weather or existential clauses, and it stands where German requires a fixed sentence position. Such uses show that personal pronouns not only denote people, but also shape sentence structure and perspective.

IdeeIdea	BeispielExample
Mich kann reflexiv gebraucht werden.Mich can be used reflexively.	Ich wasche mich.I wash myself.
Mir kann reflexiv gebraucht werden.Mir can be used reflexively.	Ich freue mich über die Nachricht.I look forward to the message.
Sich ist die reflexive Form in der dritten Person.Sich is the reflexive form in the third person.	Er erinnert sich.He remembers himself.
Es ist ein Platzhalter im Wettersatz.It is a placeholder in the weather sentence.	Es regnet.It rains.
Es steht in festen Existenzsätzen.It appears in fixed existential sentences.	Es gibt viele Probleme.There are many problems.
Das Platzhalter es hat keinen Personenbezug.The placeholder 'it' has no personal reference.	Es ist spät.It is late.

It is the polite form of address and is always capitalized in writing, even when it occurs inside the sentence. The verb accordingly is in the third person plural, even when only one person is meant. In spoken language it can be confused with 'she' depending on context, and in southern German or Austrian varieties there are regionally different forms of address.

RegionRegion	Wort oder WendungWord or phrase	Regionale DefinitionRegional definition	BeispielExample
StandarddeutschStandard German	SieSie	Die höfliche Anrede für eine einzelne oder mehrere Personen verwendet die Verbform der dritten Person Plural.The polite form of address for a single or several people uses the verb form of the third person plural.	Sie kommen morgen, weil Sie Zeit haben.You are coming tomorrow because you have time.
ÖsterreichAustria	andere Anredeformendifferent forms of address	In Teilen Österreichs werden je nach Situation regionale Höflichkeitsformen neben Sie verwendet.In parts of Austria, depending on the situation, regional politeness forms are used alongside 'Sie'.	Sie kommen, wenn es passt.You come when it fits.
SüddeutschlandSouthern Germany	regionale Formenregional forms	In Teilen Süddeutschlands existieren im Alltag regionale Varianten der Anrede und Nähe.In parts of southern Germany there exist in everyday life regional variants of the address and closeness.	Sie grüßen, weil sie freundlich sind.They greet, because they are friendly.

Genitive forms of personal pronouns are rare in modern German and are usually replaced for possession by possessive articles or prepositions. The important thing remains the clear distinction among ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie and Sie as well as the switch to mich, mir, dich, dir, ihn, ihm and the remaining case forms. Whoever places these forms correctly in a sentence masters the central foundation for all other pronoun kinds that build on them.