Plural subject pronouns
When talking about groups of people, German has three plural subject pronouns. For regular present tense verbs, you drop the -en from the dictionary form (the infinitive) and add these endings:
| Pronoun | Meaning | Verb Ending | Example (kochen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| wir | we | -en | wir kochen |
| ihr | you (plural) | -t | ihr kocht |
| sie | they | -en | sie kochen |
"Wir" and "sie"
For wir (we) and sie (they), regular verbs take the -en ending. This makes them very easy to remember, as the conjugated verb looks exactly like the dictionary form.
| We are cooking together. | Wir kochen zusammen. |
| We need the car now. | Wir brauchen jetzt das Auto. |
| They understand the question. | Sie verstehen die Frage. |
You can connect two sentences with contrasting ideas using aber (but).
| They say yes, but we say no. | Sie sagen ja, aber wir sagen nein. |
"Ihr" (you all)
When you are talking directly to a group of people informally (like "you guys" or "y'all"), use the pronoun ihr. For regular verbs, add a -t to the stem.
| Are you all looking for the book? | Sucht ihr das Buch? |
Form a yes/no question by moving the conjugated verb to the beginning of the sentence.
| Are you all playing here together? | Spielt ihr hier zusammen? |
Verbs ending in -d or -t
If a verb's stem ends in a -d or -t (like finden), adding just a "-t" for the ihr form would be difficult to pronounce. To fix this, German adds an extra -e- before the ending.
| You all are finding the money. | Ihr findet das Geld. |
Groups of people: "die Leute" and "alle"
When a noun refers to multiple people—such as die Leute (the people) or the pronoun alle (everyone / all)—it acts exactly like sie (they). You will use the same -en verb ending.
| People like to drink coffee. | Die Leute trinken gern Kaffee. |
| Everyone understands the problem. | Alle verstehen das Problem. |
