I see him: the object forms
English pronouns still change with their job: he sees the dog, but the dog sees him. German does the same. The person or thing the verb acts on is the direct object, and it takes the Akkusativ. Ask the verb wen? or was?: Ich sehe wen? — dich.
Nominativ and Akkusativ
| Nominativ (subject) | Akkusativ (object) | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mich | I → me |
| du | dich | you → you |
| er | ihn | he → him |
| sie | sie | she → her |
| es | es | it → it |
| wir | uns | we → us |
| ihr | euch | you (all) → you (all) |
| sie | sie | they → them |
| Sie | Sie | you (formal) → you (formal) |
Only five forms are new: mich, dich, ihn, uns, euch. Sie, es, sie and formal Sie stay the same. Like der → den, er adds an -n: ihn.
As the direct object
The subject stays in the Nominativ, the pronoun that receives the action takes the Akkusativ. Swap the two people and both pronouns change: Ich verstehe dich. / Du verstehst mich.
Verstehst du mich?
Do you understand me?
Ich liebe dich.
I love you.
Ich kenne ihn schon lange.
I've known him for a long time.
Ich kenne sie nicht.
I don't know her.
Besuchst du uns im Sommer?
Are you visiting us in the summer?
Ich sehe euch morgen.
I'll see you all tomorrow.
Ich verstehe Sie nicht.
I don't understand you.
formal, with a capital S
Things follow the noun's gender
A thing as an object also gets the pronoun of its gender: der-nouns become ihn, die-nouns sie, das-nouns es.
Der Stift? Ich brauche ihn.
The pen? I need it.
der Stift → ihn
Die Lampe? Ich nehme sie.
The lamp? I'll take it.
die Lampe → sie
Das Buch? Ich lese es gerade.
The book? I'm reading it right now.
das Buch → es
