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The noun phrase: determiners and pronouns
The forms of Sie are the same whether you are speaking to one or more people. In general, the use of du/ihr (and the corresponding use of first names) is much less widespread in Germanspeaking countries than the use of first names in English-speaking countries.
„Zu diesem Zeitpunkt erfuhr Ihr Mann, dass Sie ihn besuchen wollten.“
Man When referring to people in general, it is normal to use the indefinite pronoun man ‘one’ (not du or Leute): Bei Rot soll man nicht über die Straße gehen. One/You shouldn’t cross the road when the lights are red. Heutzutage ist man toleranter. Nowadays people are more tolerant. Man only exists in the nominative form. For the other cases einen (accusative) and einem (dative) are used: Die Politik macht einen geradezu depressiv. Politics make one positively depressed. Der Staat sollte einem viel mehr Geld geben. The state ought to give people far more money.
3.8 Reflexive pronouns Sometimes a pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence, e.g. Ich wasche mich (I wash myself/ I’m washing myself) or Er schadet sich (He’s harming himself). These are called REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS, and verbs used with reflexive pronouns are called REFLEXIVE VERBS. In terms of valency this means that their direct or indirect object refers to the same person(s) as their subject (see 8.2). Reflexive pronouns are used more widely in German than English, and they have a special form – sich – in the third person:
accusative ich du er/sie/es wir ihr sie/Sie
freue freust freut freuen freut freuen
mich dich sich uns euch sich
dative ich du er/sie/es wir ihr sie/Sie
schade schadest schadet schaden schadet schaden
mir dir sich uns euch sich
