← German Grammar
Pronouns are function words — finite and listable. Complexity lives in the paradigms, not the dictionary.
They can stand as an NP or as a determiner / adjective-like modifier.
Four families
- Reference — personal, possessive, reflexive, es
- Syntax — interrogative, relative
- Space — demonstrative
- Quantity — indefinite
Personal & possessive (3rd person)
Syntactically like an NP, plus a person dimension. Possessive row replaces genitive for everyday use.
| M | N | F | Pl |
|---|
| N | er | es | sie | sie |
| A | ihn | es | sie | sie |
| D | ihm | ihm | ihr | ihnen |
| Poss | sein | sein | ihr | ihr |
1st / 2nd person
| 1.sg | 1.pl | 2.sg | 2.pl |
|---|
| N | ich | wir | du | ihr |
| A | dich | uns | dich | euch |
| D | mir | uns | dir | euch |
| Poss | mein | unser | dein | euer |
- Attributive possessives (mein Buch) → indefinite (ein-group) endings
- Independent possessives (das Meine) → definite-class endings
Interrogative
Nominal (wer / was)
No gender/number choice: person ≈ der-paradigm, thing ≈ das-paradigm.
| Form |
|---|
| N | wer / was |
| A | wen / was |
| D | wem |
| G | wessen |
Adjectival
| Type | Form |
|---|
| Specific | welch- |
| Kind | was für (ein-) |
Indefinite (quantifiers)
By meaning
| Sense | Forms |
|---|
| one | man, ein- |
| exists | jemand, etwas |
| none | nichts, niemand, kein- |
| every | jed- |
| all | all-, sämtlich |
| any | irgend- |
| some | einig-, viel-, wenig-, manch-, mehre(r)-, (welch-) |
| other | ander-, beid- |
Degree of “some”: viel > manch- > einig- > mehrer- > wenig-.
By referent
| person | object | both |
|---|
| one | man | — | ein- |
| exists | jemand | etwas | welch- |
| none | niemand | nichts | kein- |
| every | jedermann | — | jed- |
| all | — | — | all-, sämtlich |
| any | irgendwer | irgendwas | irgendein- |
| some | — | — | viel-, manch-, einig-, mehrer-, wenig- |
| other | — | — | ander-, beide |
Number behaviour
| Constraint | Forms |
|---|
| no inflection | man, etwas, nichts |
| singular only | jemand, niemand, jed- |
| plural only | “some” set (einig-, viel-, …) |
| both | kein-, all-, ein- (welche- plural) |
Ending class
| Class | Forms |
|---|
| indefinite (ein-group) | ein-, kein-, irgendein- (+ attributive possessives) |
| definite | welch-, jed-, all-, manch- (+ dies-, solch-) |
| adjectival | “some” (except manch-), ander-, beid- |
| noun or adjective | forms in -, etwas, nichts |
| noun only | the rest |
Special uses
- viel / wenig / mehr without ending + bare noun: Viel Glück
- all without ending: all die + plural