A1 · 40 words
Pronouns, articles and question words in German
The small words that hold every sentence together — and that no topic list would otherwise contain.
These words had a grammar page and no vocabulary entry for a long time, which meant the vocabulary count did not include them, the vocabulary test never asked for them, and the page listing the most useful words in the language did not have ich, der or wo on it. A rule is not a word. They are also where German asks something English does not. The personal pronouns change for case — ich, mich, mir — and the dative forms are used far more often than the article table they come from, because mir and dir turn up in half the sentences a beginner says.
The words
Pronoun (18)
ichIPronounA1
Accusative: mich. Dative: mir. Only capitalised at the start of a sentence, unlike English.
michme (accusative)PronounA1
mirme (dative), to mePronounA1
Used after dative verbs and dative prepositions — and far more often than English "to me" suggests.
erhePronounA1
Accusative: ihn. Dative: ihm. Also used for any masculine noun, so a table is "er".
sieshe; theyPronounA1
Three words in one: she, they, and — capitalised — the formal "you". The verb ending tells "she" from "they".
esitPronounA1
For neuter nouns, and as the empty subject of weather verbs.
wirwePronounA1
Accusative and dative: uns.
ihnhim (accusative)PronounA1
ihmhim (dative), to himPronounA1
unsusPronounA1
The same form for accusative and dative — a small mercy.
euchyou (plural, accusative and dative)PronounA1
ihnenthem (dative), to themPronounA1
Capitalised as "Ihnen" it is the formal "to you".
manone, you (impersonal)PronounA1
Takes the third person singular. Not the same word as "der Mann", and it has no plural.
dieserthisPronounA2
Takes the endings of "der", not of "ein": diesen, diesem, dieses.
alleall, everybodyPronounA1
etwassomething, a littlePronounA1
Shortened to "was" in speech. Also means "somewhat": etwas müde.
nichtsnothingPronounA1
jemandsomebodyPronounA2
The negative is "niemand".
Article (11)
derthe (masculine)ArticleA1
Accusative den, dative dem, genitive des. The only gender that changes in all four cases.
diethe (feminine and plural)ArticleA1
Dative singular der, dative plural den. Every plural takes "die", whatever the singular gender.
dasthe (neuter)ArticleA1
Same in nominative and accusative, which removes half the difficulty for neuter nouns.
eina, an (masculine and neuter)ArticleA1
No ending in the masculine nominative and the neuter — which is exactly why an adjective after it has to carry one.
einea, an (feminine)ArticleA1
keinno, not aArticleA1
German negates a noun with "kein", not with "nicht": kein Auto, not "nicht ein Auto".
meinmyArticleA1
Takes the same endings as "ein" — which is why they are called ein-words.
deinyour (informal)ArticleA1
seinhis, itsArticleA1
The same string as the verb "sein", to be — two different words that happen to look alike.
ihrher, their; your (plural)ArticleA1
Capitalised as "Ihr" it is the formal "your".
unserourArticleA1
Question word (11)
werwhoQuestion wordA1
Asks about the nominative. For the accusative it is "wen", for the dative "wem".
wenwhom (accusative)Question wordA1
wemto whom (dative)Question wordA1
waswhatQuestion wordA1
wowhereQuestion wordA1
For a position. "wohin" asks where to, "woher" where from — three words where English mostly uses one.
wohinwhere toQuestion wordA1
wannwhenQuestion wordA1
wiehowQuestion wordA1
warumwhyQuestion wordA1
welcherwhichQuestion wordA2
Takes the endings of "der": welchen, welchem, welche.
wie vielhow muchQuestion wordA1
Written as two words. The plural is "wie viele".
This list belongs to Basic words: numbers, time, verbs — 16 lists and 702 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
From these 40 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.