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You already know how to use the impersonal pronoun **man** to talk about people in general, or to say "you" or "one" (as in, "One never stops learning"). But what happens when "you" are the object of the sentence?

The word **man** only exists in the nominative case. To use the general "one" or "you" as an object, German borrows forms from the indefinite article *ein*. These forms do not change based on your gender; they are always the same.

### The Accusative: einen

If the general "you" or "one" is the direct object of an action, use the accusative form **einen**. You will see this often with verbs that take direct objects, like *motivieren* (to motivate), *belasten* (to burden), or *beruhigen* (to calm).

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### The Dative: einem

When "you" or "one" is the indirect object—usually the receiver of an action, such as when something gives "you" courage—use the dative form **einem**.

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This also applies to verbs that strictly require the dative case, such as *schaden* (to harm) or *helfen* (to help).

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### Putting It All Together

When giving life advice or talking about human motivation, you will often mix and match these forms depending on what the verbs in your sentence require. Just remember to ask yourself whether the verb takes a direct object (**einen**) or an indirect or dative object (**einem**).

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Object forms of 'man' (einen, einem)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
to motivate	motivieren
A good book can really motivate you.	Ein gutes Buch kann einen wirklich motivieren.
to burden	belasten
Too much stress definitely burdens you.	Zu viel Stress belastet einen auf jeden Fall.
to strengthen	stärken
the self-confidence	das Selbstvertrauen
Sports strengthen you and give you self-confidence.	Sport stärkt einen und gibt einem Selbstvertrauen.
to calm	beruhigen
The truth often calms you, even if it is hard.	Die Wahrheit beruhigt einen oft, auch wenn sie hart ist.
the courage	der Mut
A loyal friend gives you courage.	Ein treuer Freund gibt einem Mut.
the perspective	die Perspektive
This experience gives you a new perspective.	Diese Erfahrung gibt einem eine neue Perspektive.
the clarity	die Klarheit
You need clarity so that nobody harms you.	Man braucht Klarheit, damit einem niemand schadet.
A new perspective motivates you to solve the problem.	Eine neue Perspektive motiviert einen, das Problem zu lösen.
to inspire	inspirieren
This film inspires you and gives you courage.	Dieser Film inspiriert einen und gibt einem Mut.
Nature inspires you not to give up.	Die Natur inspiriert einen, nicht aufzugeben.
to surprise	überraschen
Life actually surprises you again and again.	Das Leben überrascht einen eigentlich immer wieder.
This sudden clarity surprises you a lot.	Diese plötzliche Klarheit überrascht einen sehr.
The noise burdens you, but the quiet calms you.	Der Lärm belastet einen, aber die Ruhe beruhigt einen.
A good conversation helps you a lot, nevertheless it is sometimes exhausting.	Ein gutes Gespräch hilft einem sehr, trotzdem ist es manchmal anstrengend.
A good friend strengthens one.	Ein guter Freund stärkt einen.
Success strengthens one's self-confidence.	Der Erfolg stärkt einem das Selbstvertrauen.