Demonstrative pronouns - der, die, das (him, her, it, them, etc.)
We use der, die, das etc. to emphasize something that has already been mentioned, particularly in everyday spoken German.
-Kennst du den Mann? -Nein, den kenne ich nicht.
-Do you know the man? -No, I don't know him.
This table shows how they change depending on the case:
| Nom. | Akk. | Dat. | Gen. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mask. | der | den | dem | dessen |
| fem. | die | die | der | deren |
| neut. | das | das | dem | dessen |
| Pl. | die | die | denen | deren |
Notes:
- It can sometimes sound slightly negative when we use the article in this way.
-Kennst du die Leute? -Nein, die kenne ich nicht.
-Do you know these people? -No, I don't know them.
- We can also just use a personal pronoun Personalpronomen instead.
-Wo sind Anna und Magda? -Die sind im Urlaub. / Sie sind im Urlaub.
-Where are Anna and Magda? -They are on holiday.
- The genitive Genitiv form must be immediately followed by a noun.
Ich kenne die Autorin. Deren Roman ist sehr bekannt.
I know the author. Her novel is very famous.
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