Subject Pronouns

Also called nominative pronouns, German subject pronouns tell you who is doing the action of a sentence or phrase.

In English, subject pronouns are words such as "you", "we" and "it".

German subject pronouns, however, differ from English in two important ways. First, German has a second-person plural subject pronoun ihr used for addressing groups of people. This is similar to "you all" or "y'all" in English.

Second, German uses the formal pronoun Sie when addressing social superiors or otherwise unacquainted people. The word sie (with a lowercase "s") can be translated as "she" or "they" depending on the context. However, Sie (with an uppercase "s") translated as "you" and is used in place of the informal du, which is used among family, friends, pets, etc.

Be very careful when when using du. If used inappropriately, it can be very insulting.