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German Grammar Explained /
Possessive articles: Part II
Hold on tight! Things are about to get very exciting in your German learning path! We are continuing with the possessive articles.
I don't know if I should be scared or excited.
Excited of course! We learned the singular forms not long ago. Here are the plural forms:
| ich | Das ist mein Vater. This is my father. |
| du | Ist das dein Vater? Is this your father? |
| er - Max | Ist das sein Vater? Is this his father? |
| sie - Julia | Ist das ihr Vater? Is this her father? |
| es - das Kind | Ist das sein Vater? Is this his/her father? |
| wir | Unser großer Bruder ist schon verheiratet. Our big brother is married already. |
| ihr - Julia und Max | Arbeitet euer Bruder wirklich in Japan? Does your brother really work in Japan? |
| sie | Wo arbeitet ihr Bruder? Where does their brother work? |
| Sie | Ist das Ihr Auto? Is this your car? |
Ugh, so many words to remember... Also, how can ihr mean so many different things? German is crazy!
I know, it can be a bit confusing at first, especially when you can't see it written down. Luckily for you, I’m going to break this down into a cute little list:
| you (plural) | Kommt ihr morgen? | Are you coming tomorrow? |
| her | Ist das ihr Vater? | Is this her father? |
| their | Ist das ihr Vater? | Is this their father? |
| your (formal) | Ist das Ihr Vater? | Is this your father? |
Alles klar?
unser, euer, Ihr, ihr... Yeah, I think I can manage!
For the grammar-thirsty folks
If you haven't noticed, we have three different words for you:
Informal → du
Formal → Sie
Plural → ihr
you can also be an object, so we also need the accusatives:
I love you. → Ich liebe dich.
I love you. → Ich liebe Sie.
I love you. → Ich liebe euch.
Finally, we should also think about the datives:
I help you. → Ich helfe dir.
I help you. → Ich helfe Ihnen.
I help you. → Ich helfe euch.
The next time someone asks "How do you say 'you' in German?", you should say:
Du, Sie, ihr, dich, dir, Ihnen, or euch... it really depends.
And as you saw in the table above, ihr can also mean your, her and their!