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What are Demonstrative Pronouns? (Demonstrativpronomen)
Demonstrativpronomen are: der, die, das, dieser, diese, dieses, jener, jene, jenes and their respective declined versions.
- We use Demonstrativpronomen to emphasize something.
- They are always strongly stressed.
- They can be used as a placeholder for a previously mentioned noun.
- There are different Demonstrative Pronouns.
- They are used to avoid the repetition of the noun.
Example:
- „Wer ist der Mann dort?“ – „Den kenne ich nicht.“
„Der“, „Die“ and „Das“ as Demonstrativpronomen
The declension of the Demonstrativpronomen „der“, „die“, „das“ is very similar to the declension of the Relative Pronouns.
Word Order
Demonstrativpronomen are strongly stressed and are often in position 1:
- „Der Mann gibt der Frau den Brief.“ (normal, as Article)
- „Den gibt der Mann der Frau.“
- „Den gibt er ihr!“
Alternative Word Order: „Er gibt den ihr.“
Interesting Fact:
Putting the Demonstrativpronomen in the 3rd or 4th position is not grammatically wrong, but it contradicts the stress and emphasis. Therefore, native speakers will probably be confused if you put it in a place other than position 1.
Demonstrative Pronoun: „das“
„Das“ combined with the verb „sein“ refers to a person or thing (pointing the finger at it).
We often combine it with the adverbs „hier“, „da“ and „dort“
.
- „Papa was ist das da?“ – „Das ist ein Hammer.“
- „Wem gehören die Schuhe dort?“ – „Das sind meine!“
⇒ If we don't know what something is, we use „das“.
„Das“ can also refer to an entire sentence content or situation:
- „Anna hat sich von Tobi getrennt!“ - „Bist du dir sicher? Das kann nicht sein!“
- „Der Fernseher ist kaputt!“ - „Das wusste ich auch so schon!“
A situation or idea has no Genus ⇒ das
Demonstrative Pronouns: „dieser” / „jener”
„Dieser“ and „jener“ can be both Articles and Pronouns. In both instances, they are declined the same way.
„Dieser“ is used to emphasize something close to the speaker.
„Jener“ is used to emphasize something further away from the speaker.
- „Gefallen dir die Schuhe?“ – „Nein, diese nicht aber jene!“
- „Ist das dein neues Auto?“ – „Dieses nicht, aber jenes!“
Interesting Fact:
In Informal language „jenes“ is rarely used. Instead „der“, „die“, „das“, … + „da“/„dort“ are used.
- „Gefallen dir die Schuhe?“ – „Nein, diese nicht aber die dort!“
- „Ist das dein neues Auto?“ – „Dieses nicht, aber das dort!“
Summary
- With Demonstrativpronomen, we can stress and emphasize things.
- We use „der“, „die“, „das“ and their declined versions.
- If we cannot determine the Gender, we use „das“.
- To show distance, we can use „dieser“ or „jener“.
Related Topics:
Entire lesson in German only: Demonstrativpronomen
Demonstrative Pronouns are also often used in conjunction with Lokalen Adverbien (Local Adverbs).
More lessons on Pronouns:
- Was sind Pronomen? (What are Pronouns?)
- Personalpronomen (Personal Pronoun)
- Possessivpronomen (Possessive Pronoun)
- Reflexivpronomen (Reflexive Pronoun)
- Relativpronomen (Relative Pronoun)
- Indefinitpronomen (Indefinite Pronoun)
- Pronomen „es" (Pronoun "es")
Pronouns have to be declined. Therefore, you must also be familiar with the declension and the deutschen Fällen (German Cases):
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