German Subject Pronouns and Sein

A1.2 · Building identity

German Subject Pronouns and Sein

By the end, you can identify yourself and other people with the natural German pattern—not a word-for-word copy of English.

Grammar map

Person or topic Subject or topic Identity form Example Pronunciation / note Natural English
I ich bin Ich bin Student / Studentin. I am a student.
you — singular du bist Du bist Schüler / Schülerin. You are a student.
he / she / it er / sie / es ist Er ist Lehrer. / Sie ist Lehrerin. He/She is a teacher.
we wir sind Wir sind Freunde / Freundinnen. We are friends.
you — plural ihr seid Ihr seid Studenten / Studentinnen. You are students.
formal you / they Sie / sie sind Sie sind Lehrer / Lehrerinnen. You/They are teachers.

Notice the pattern

German normally requires the subject pronoun, and the present form of sein changes with that subject.

Formal Sie is capitalized and uses sind, the same verb form as plural they. A profession after sein normally has no article.

Build identity sentences

Read each model aloud, then replace the identity word with one that is true for you or someone you know.

I

Ich bin Student / Studentin.

I am a student.

you — singular

Du bist Schüler / Schülerin.

You are a student.

he / she / it

Er ist Lehrer. / Sie ist Lehrerin.

He/She is a teacher.

we

Wir sind Freunde / Freundinnen.

We are friends.

you — plural

Ihr seid Studenten / Studentinnen.

You are students.

formal you / they

Sie sind Lehrer / Lehrerinnen.

You/They are teachers.

Practice

  1. Copy the first-row identity sentence exactly.
  2. Copy the second-row model, then replace its identity word with one that is true.
  3. Change the first-row idea to the we model in row four.
  4. Translate the third-row example into natural English.
  5. Does German use a separate word that changes like English am / is / are? Answer from the pattern note.
  6. Write two true identity sentences: one about you and one about another person or group.
Check your answers
  1. 1 → Ich bin Student / Studentin.
  2. 2 → A model is Du bist Schüler / Schülerin.
  3. 3 → Wir sind Freunde / Freundinnen.
  4. 4 → He/She is a teacher.
  5. 5 → German uses a separate, changing form of sein and normally keeps the subject pronoun.
  6. 6: Answers vary. Check the subject or topic, identity pattern, and any gender or number choices.

Create a three-person identity set

Write and say three accurate lines: one about yourself, one about another person, and one about a group. Check the person or topic form, gender and number choices, and the identity pattern.

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