Pronoun 'er' (he/it, nominative)
Pronomen 'er' (Nominativ)
'er' (he/it) is the masculine third-person .
Structure
er + Verb (3. Person Singular, maskulin)
er + verb (3rd person singular, masculine)
Details
- Part of Speech
- Pronoun
- Word Type
- Personal pronoun
- Register
- Standard
Explanation
er means "he" or "it" - the masculine, third-person singular . It replaces any masculine (a der-word), not only male people but also things.
After er, regular verbs take the ending -t:
- Er spielt gern Fußball. - He likes playing football.
- Er kommt aus Italien. - He comes from Italy.
- Der Tisch? Er ist neu. - The table? It is new.
The last example is key: because der Tisch is masculine, you say er ("it"), even though in English a table is "it".
A few common verbs are irregular: Er ist mein Freund. (he is), Er hat einen Hund. (he has), Er fährt nach Hause. (he drives - vowel change a→ä).
Common mistakes:
- English speakers wrongly use es ("it") for masculine objects. Der Stuhl ist alt → Er ist alt, not Es ist alt.
- Remember the -t ending: er kommt, not er komme.
About Pronoun 'er' (he/it, nominative)
'er' (he/it) is the masculine third-person .
Replaces masculine nouns (der …); the ends in -t (er kommt).
'er' ist das maskuline Subjektpronomen der 3. Person .
Caution
'er' replaces masculine nouns (der Mann → er, der Tisch → er), not only people. Verb ends in -t.