The functions of nouns and pronouns

Introduction

The words or phrases in the different parts of every clause that we read or write, hear or say, have a grammatical function. The most important functions for developing an understanding of case grammar are:

  • subject
  • complement
  • direct object
  • indirect object
  • possessive

Native speakers of English do not need to know about these functions when using their own language. One reason for this, of course, is that they have learned the rules of their own language since they were a baby. A second reason is that in English only very few words change when their function changes.

The only English words that change when their function changes are the pronouns. For example:

  • I (subject) becomes me (direct/indirect object)
  • she (subject) becomes her (direct/indirect object)
  • they (subject) becomes them (direct/indirect object)

Many other languages, however, show much greater changes in words when those words take on a different function in the sentence. The type of words most often affected by these changes are the articles, adjectives, nouns, and pronouns.

German is a language whose words show a considerable change when their function in the sentence changes. This makes learning German very difficult for English native speakers. In order to avoid making grammar mistakes in German, English native learners need to have a clear understanding of the word functions listed above. Following is an explanation of these functions, with examples. (Note: The explanations on this page are rather simplistic, but they are enough to give learners a good basis on which to understand and German case grammar.)

> Subject <

The subject of the sentence is the person or thing doing or being something. In most cases in English the subject comes before the verb, often right at the beginning of the sentence. In the following examples the subject is shown in red:

  • I forgot to do my homework.
  • His dog just ate my apple.
  • Her father never comes home from work before 8 o'clock.
  • On Sundays my friend and I always go jogging before breakfast.
  • The weather has been bad for the last 2 weeks.
  • Who is coming to your party?

> Complement <

The complement is often called subject-complement to make it clear that the subject and its complement refer to the same thing. In most cases the subject and its complement are joined by the verb to be. In the following examples the subject is shown in red and the complement in blue:

  • My mother is a doctor.
  • That was a very difficult test.
  • She wants to be a teacher when she leaves school.
  • It was a beautiful day!
  • The animal we saw in the forest was a wild pig.

> Object <

The object is often called the direct object. It is the noun or pronoun that is affected or acted on by the subject. In English the object often directly follows the verb. (For this reason English is sometimes called an SVO language = Subject > Verb > Object.) In the following examples the object is shown in red:

  • She forgot to do her homework.
  • His dog just ate my apple.
  • I saw you in town yesterday.
  • My father gave me a beautiful birthday present.
  • The teacher crashed his car on the way to school.
  • Who (whom) have you invited to your party?

[Read more about subjects and objects, and watch two video explanations.]

> Indirect object <

The indirect object is often shown in English by the word to. In the following examples the indirect object is shown in red and follows to:

  • She gave an apple to her teacher.
  • I showed my new iPod to the whole class.
  • My friend lent his electronic dictionary to me for the weekend.

It is very common to leave out the word to, and place the indirect object immediately after the verb. Here are the same sentences with the indirect object again shown in red:

  • She gave her teacher an apple.
  • I showed the whole class my new iPod.
  • My friend lent me his electronic dictionary for the weekend.

Here are some more sentences with the indirect object shown in red.

  • He wouldn't tell me his secret.
  • The teacher gave us a very difficult test.
  • Did you receive the email that I sent to you?
  • She wasn't feeling well, so I took her a glass of water.

> Possessive <

The possessive is used for the owner or possessor of a thing, or to show a relationship between two people or things. In English, the possessive is shown by an apostrophe. In the following examples the possessive is shown in red:

  • My friend's father has just lost his job.
  • The teacher's new car was broken into last night.
  • Does anyone know where the boys' parents are?
  • This is the school's biggest problem.
  • I'm wearing my sister's jacket today!
  • The tree's leaves had all blown off in the wind.

Word functions in German

The different word functions listed above are shown in German by one of the four cases as follows:

  • subject: nominative
  • complement: nominative
  • object: accusative
  • indirect object: dative
  • possessive: genitive

Look at these translations of some of the sentences listed above:

> Subject - Nominative <

  • I forgot my homework.
  • Ich habe meine Hausaufgaben vergessen. [nominative]

  • His dog just ate my apple.
  • Sein Hund hat eben meinen Apfel gegessen. [nominative]

  • On Sundays my friend and I always go jogging before breakfast.
  • Sonntags gehen mein Freund und ich immer vor dem Frühstück joggen. [nominative]

  • The weather has been bad for the last 2 weeks.
  • Das Wetter ist seit 2 Wochen schlecht. [nominative]

> Complement - Nominative <

  • My mother is a doctor.
  • Meine Mutter ist Arzt. [nominative]

  • That was a very difficult test.
  • Das war ein sehr schwerer Test. [nominative]

  • It is a beautiful day!
  • Es ist ein schöner Tag. [nominative]

  • The animal we saw in the forest was a wild pig.
  • Das Tier, das wir im Wald sahen, war ein Wildschwein. [nominative]

> Object - Accusative <

  • She forgot her homework.
  • Sie hat ihre Hausaufgaben vergessen. [accusative]

  • His dog just ate my apple.
  • Sein Hund hat eben meinen Apfel gegessen. [accusative]

  • I saw you in town yesterday.
  • Ich sah dich gestern in der Stadt. [accusative]

  • My father gave me a beautiful birthday present.
  • Mein Vater schenkte mir ein schönes Geburtstagsgeschenk. [accusative]

  • The teacher crashed his new car on the way to school.
  • Der Lehrer hat sein neues Auto auf der Fahrt in die Schule kaputtgefahren. [accusative]

> Indirect object - Dative <

  • She gave an apple to her teacher. / She gave her teacher an apple.
  • Sie gab ihrer Lehrerin einen Apfel. [dative]

  • I showed my new iPod to the whole class. / I showed the whole class my new iPod.
  • Ich zeigte der ganzen Klasse meinen neuen iPod. [dative]

  • My friend lent his electronic dictionary to me for the weekend. / My friend lent me his electronic dictionary for the weekend.
  • Mein Freund leihte mir sein electronisches Wörterbuch. [dative]

Note 1: German does not use a preposition to show the indirect object.

  • He wouldn't tell me his secret.
  • Er wollte mir sein Geheimnis nicht verraten. [dative]

  • The teacher gave us a very difficult test.
  • Die Lehrerin gab uns einen sehr schwerern Test. [dative]

  • Did you receive the email that I sent you?
  • Hast du die email erhalten, die ich dir schickte. [dative]

  • She wasn't feeling well, so I took her a glass of water.
  • Es ging ihr nicht gut, also brachte ich ihr ein Glas Wasser. [dative]

Note 2: There some German verbs that require the dative even though the noun/pronoun that follows them has the object function. Here are some important examples:

  • helfen: Help me! = Hilf mir! [dative]
  • antworten: Answer me! = Antworte mir! [dative]
  • verzeihen: Forgive me! = Verzeih mir! [dative]
  • glauben: Believe me! = Glaub mir! [dative]

> Possessive - Genitive <

The main function of the genitive in German is to show grammatical possession. In English possession is indicated by an apostrophe.

The following sentences make clear that in German the genitive comes after the noun with which it is associated; in English the genitive (shown by the apostrophe) comes before the associated noun. Example: der Vater des Mädchens / the girl's father.

  • My friend's father has just lost his job.
  • Der Vater meines Freunds hat seine Arbeit verloren. [genitive]

  • The teacher's new car was broken into last night.
  • Das Auto des Lehrers wurde gestern Nacht aufgebrochen. [genitive]

  • Does anyone know where the boys' parents are?
  • Weiß jemand, wo die Eltern der Jungen sich befinden? [genitive]

  • This is the school's biggest problem.
  • Dies ist das größte Problem der Schule. [genitive]

  • I'm wearing my sister's jacket today!
  • Heute trage ich die Jacke meiner Schwester. [genitive]

  • The tree's leaves had all blown off in the wind.
  • Alle Blätter des Baums wurden vom Wind verweht. [genitive]

English noun phrases starting with of are also conveyed in German by the genitive case. Here are some examples:

  • in the middle of the city = in der Mitte der Stadt [genitive]
  • the photo of a house = das Foto eines Hauses [genitive]
  • at the end of the day = am Ende des Tags [genitive]
  • the driver of the car = der Fahrer des Autos [genitive]
  • the cause of the problem = die Ursache des Problems [genitive]
  • the tail of a mouse = der Schwanz einer Maus [genitive]

Read a shorter summary of the nominative and accusative. These are the first cases that beginners need to understand. The page links to two videos as a further aid to understanding this essential aspect of German grammar.

See more sentences exemplifying the different cases.