German Determiners and Pronouns – All in One Place / Demonstrativpronomen

In this lesson, you will learn about German demonstrative determiners and pronouns. You will understand their usage, the differences between them, and which demonstrative determiners and pronouns exist in German.
Demonstrative determiners are a limited set of small words that accompany nouns, linking them to a specific context or situation. These words are used to indicate something or someone, similar to how we use “this” and “that” in English.
On the other hand, pronouns are a small group of words that replace nouns or noun phrases. They are particularly useful for referring to nouns or noun phrases that have already been mentioned or that do not need to be repeated in full.

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CONTENTS

Demonstratives
Der/die/das
Dieser
Other demonstratives
Das (this/ that)
Demonstrative pronouns
Der, die, das as pronoun
Selbst  and selber

 

Demonstratives

The demonstratives include definite and indefinite articles, as well as other words used to specify nouns, such as “dieser” and “jener.”

Der/die/das

The demonstratives in spoken German are frequently used expressions that share the same written forms as the definite article. However, they are typically pronounced with a strong emphasis and a fully articulated vowel when indicating an object. These demonstratives correspond to the English words “this” or “that.”

Compare:

Ich möchte ein Stück von der Wurst. – I’d like a piece of the sausage.
Ich möchte ein Stück von der Wurst. – I’d like a piece of this/that sausage.

Dieser

As a determiner and a pronoun dieser typically refers to something near at hand It thus generally corresponds to English ‘this’. As a determiner, dieser occurs in both spoken and written German, but as a pronoun it is mainly used in writing since spoken German tends to use der in this function

Dieser generally corresponds to English ‘this’. It is especially common in written German (where derwould be ambiguous), but it is used in speech, too. It has different forms to show the GENDER, NUMBERand CASEof the noun it is used with.

In practice, dieser is often used where we would say ‘that’ in English if it is not necessary to make a clear distinction between something close by and something further away:

Ich habe diese Aufgabe  nicht verstanden. – I didn’t understand this/that exercise.
Diese Suppe schmeckt aber gut! – This/that soup really does taste good!

For example:

Dieses Problem kann ich lösen, jenes aber nicht.
Nimm diese Flasche, jene ist leer.
Jenes sind meine Kunstwerke.

The short form dies can be used for dieses as a pronoun It refers in general to something close by or recent and its use is very similar to that of English ‘this’:

The short form “dies” can be used for “dieses” as a pronoun. It generally refers to something nearby or recent, and its use is very similar to that of the English word “this”.
For example:
Gib mir dies sofort.
Dies Buch habe ich gelesen.

The form “dies” can be used irrespective of gender or number, with a plural verb where appropriate.|

For example:
Dies sind meine Schwestern.
Dies ist meine Frau.

These endings are also used for a large number of other determiners:

jener that
mancher some, many
mehrere several
sämtliche  all
alle all
beide  both
einige some
jeder each, every
viele  much, many
welcher  which
wenige  few

Other demonstratives

Jener (that) is used mainly in formal written German. It has the same endings as dieser.

An jenem Abend beschlossen sie zu heiraten. – They decided to get married that evening.
Was ist an jenem Tag noch geschehen? – What else happened that day?

In the spoken language, jenes is rarely used. Instead of jenes is used der, die, das, … + da/dort.

For example:

Gefällt dir den Mantel? – Nein, dieser nicht aber der dort!
Darf ich das Buch nehmen – Dieses nicht, aber das dort!
Siehst du den Mann? – Welchen Mann?  – Den da!

Solcher (such) is used mainly in the plural, with the same endings as dieser. In the singular it is usually used with ein and has the same endings as an adjective.

The term “solch-“ appears in several forms:

▪ inflected “solcher,” which declines like “dieser” (refer to the table above).
▪ endingless “solch,” used with an indefinite article.
For example:
solch ein Tag – such a day
solch ein anständiges Mädchen – such a decent girl.

– “solch-“ used after the indefinite article “ein” or another determiner, accompanied by the endings of an
adjective.
For example:
ein solches Buch – a book like this
jeder solche Gedanke – every such thought
alle solchen Frauen – all such women

Das (this/ that)

For example:
Mit solchen Leuten will ich nichts zu tun haben. – I don’t want anything to do with people like that.
Ich hatte solches Fieber. – I had such a fever.
Ich habe solchen Hunger. – I am so hungry.
Ein solches anständiges Mädchen. – Such a decent girl.

So ein is the most common equivalent for ‘such a’ in spoken German, with the endings of the indefinite article ein. It is often accompanied by a gesture indicating the size.

For example:
Er hat mir so ein großes Handy gekauft. – He bought me an cellphone this big!

A relative clause typically follows “derjenige” (that). The first part declines like “der,” and the second part uses the endings of an adjective.

For example:
Derjenige, der keine Fahrkarte hat, muss Strafe zahlen. –The person who does not have a ticket must pay a fine.
Ich möchte denjenigen danken, die mich unterstützt haben. -I would like to thank those who have supported me.

Derselbe (the same). Both parts decline, like derjenige.

For example:
Er ist derselbe geblieben wie früher. – He has remained the same as before.
Er hat denselben Pullover wie du. – He has the same sweater as you.
Das ist doch dieselbe Person wie auf dem Foto. – That’s the same person as in the photo.

Das (this/ that) It is often used in German to introduce someone or indicate something.

For example:
Das ist mein Freund Tom. (This is my friend Tom.)
Was ist das? – Das ist eine Lampe. (What’s that? – It’s a lamp.)

It is often combined with adverbs of place:hier, da i dort.

Was ist das da?  – Das ist eine Reinigungsmaschine. (What is that? It’s a cleaning machine.)
Welche Hose soll ich kaufen? – Diese hier. Die ist sehr elegant. (Which pants should I buy? These here. They’re very elegant.)

Demonstrative pronouns

Most demonstrative determiners can function as pronouns, showing variations in gender, number, and case. This means that instead of being used with a following noun, they can replace a noun. This often refers back to a noun or noun phrase that has already been mentioned.

For example: 
Wer ist die Frau dort? – Die kenne ich nicht.

Some demonstratives have special forms when used as pronouns, which can be complicated for learners but is not insurmountable.😊

Der, die, das as pronoun

The demonstrative pronoun der, die, das is declined like the relative pronoun:

These are also the forms of the RELATIVE PRONOUNS.

For example:

• Kennen Sie den Mann hier auf dem Foto?-Do you know the man in this photo?
‣ Welchen Mann?  -Which man? 
• Den mit den blauen Augen.- The one with the blue eyes.

• Ich hätte gern ein Stück Käse von denen hier. – I’d like a piece of cheese from one of these.
‣ Welchen meinen Sie denn? – Which one do you mean?
‣ Den Hier.- This one.
• Nein, den meine ich nicht. Ich meine den hier.- No, I don’t mean that one. I mean this one.

Selbst  and selber

These pronouns are used to reinforce personal or reflexive pronouns:
Erschadetsich selbst. – He is harming himself.
Sie opfern sich selber. – They sacrifice themselves.

Selbst se upotrebljava više u pisanom, a selber u govornom jeziku.

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