Pronouns are where the German case system stops being theory. English changes I to me and he to him without anyone finding it hard, and German does the same thing with one extra column.
The table
| nominative (subject) | accusative (direct object) | dative (indirect object) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | ich | mich | mir |
| you (informal) | du | dich | dir |
| he | er | ihn | ihm |
| she | sie | sie | ihr |
| it | es | es | ihm |
| we | wir | uns | uns |
| you (plural) | ihr | euch | euch |
| they | sie | sie | ihnen |
| you (polite) | Sie | Sie | Ihnen |
Three of the nine — sie, es, Sie — never change between nominative and accusative, and uns and euch are the same in both object cases. There is less to learn here than the grid suggests.
Which column to use
The same test as anywhere else in German. If the pronoun is doing the verb, it is nominative. If the verb is done to it, accusative. If it is the one receiving something, dative.
Ich sehe ihn. — I see him. (I = nominative, him = accusative)
Er gibt mir das Buch. — He gives me the book. (me = dative, the book = accusative)
The second sentence has two objects. The book is what is given — accusative. mir is who receives it — dative. English marks this with word order and sometimes "to me"; German marks it on the pronoun itself.
German cases has the full picture of what each case is for.
sie is four different words
This trips up everybody, and there is no way around it except word order and verb endings.
| Means | Verb | |
|---|---|---|
| sie kommt | she comes | singular |
| sie kommen | they come | plural |
| Sie kommen | you come (polite) | plural, capital S |
| ich sehe sie | I see her / them | accusative |
The verb ending does most of the separating: sie kommt can only be "she", sie kommen can only be "they" or polite "you". In writing, the capital S marks the polite form; in speech, context does.
Two objects: which order
A sentence with both a dative and an accusative object has a fixed order, and it changes depending on whether the objects are pronouns. This is the part textbooks teach as "dative first" at A1 and then quietly correct at B1, which is why almost everybody has it wrong in between.
Two nouns — dative first.
Ich gebe dem Mann (dative) das Buch (accusative).
One pronoun — the pronoun goes first, whichever case it is in.
Ich gebe es dem Mann. (accusative pronoun, dative noun)
Ich gebe ihm das Buch. (dative pronoun, accusative noun)
Two pronouns — accusative first, and the dative order flips.
Ich gebe es ihm. — I give it to him.
Ich glaube es ihr nicht. — I do not believe her.
es ihm, never ihm es. The rule that held for nouns reverses the moment both objects become pronouns.
is left, accusative leads.
The verbs that take dative
A short list of common verbs takes a dative object where English expects a direct one. The pronoun after them is mir, dir, ihm — never mich, dich, ihn.
| Verb | Example |
|---|---|
| helfen | Ich helfe dir. — I help you. |
| danken | Ich danke Ihnen. — I thank you. |
| gefallen | Das gefällt mir. — I like that. |
| gehören | Das gehört mir. — That is mine. |
| antworten | Ich antworte ihm. — I answer him. |
| folgen | Ich folge dir. — I follow you. |
Ich helfe dich is the mistake this list exists to prevent. There is no rule behind which verbs these are — it is a short list, and it is worth learning as one.
gefallen works backwards
Das gefällt mir literally says "that pleases me", so the thing you like is the subject and you are the dative object. The German sentence is built the opposite way round from the English one.
Der Film gefällt mir. — I like the film.
Die Filme gefallen mir. — I like the films. (verb agrees with the films, not with me)
du, ihr or Sie
| Form | For |
|---|---|
| du | one person you know — friends, family, children, colleagues in most workplaces |
| ihr | more than one person you know |
| Sie | formal distance, singular or plural — many strangers, customers, officials and formal workplaces |
The choice depends on setting as well as age or familiarity: many modern shops, teams and online communities use du immediately. When a situation is clearly formal and nobody has established du, Sie is the safe opening; otherwise follow the form people use with you.
What to actually memorise
The mich / mir and ihn / ihm pairs, and the dative verb list. Everything else in the table either does not change or follows from knowing which case you are in.