What is the order of the pronouns?

The pronouns order is quite complex and I fear you will need to learn that by heart in order to remember it.

So, let's start from this sentence:

Sophie has given a present to her sister: Sophie hat ihrer Schwester ein Geschenk gegeben.

In this case, we have two nouns ( sister and present) and for this reason the order is: dativ+ akkusativ

Sophie has given her a present: Sophie hat ihr ein Geschenk gegeben

In this case, we have a personal pronoun and a noun ( her and present). For this reason, the correct order is again: dativ + akkusativ

Sophie has given it to her: Sophie hat es ihr gegeben.

In this case, we have two pronouns (it and her), and the right order is akkusativ + dativ

SD

Related German A Level answers

All answers ▸

How do I form the conditional tense in German, and how do I construct an ‘if’ clause?


How do I know the gender of nouns in German?


What is "Plusquamperfekt" and how is it different from "Perfekt" ?


How do I know if a word needs a preposition and if so how can I tell which one to use?