ihr
GermanEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- jr (obsolete)
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle High German ir, from Old High German ir, from Proto-West Germanic *jiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *jīz. Cognate with Low German ji, jie, Yiddish איר (ir), Dutch jij, gij, je, Middle Dutch ir, English ye, Gothic 𐌾𐌿𐍃 (jūs).
PronunciationEdit
- (standard) IPA(key): /iːɐ̯/
(file) - Rhymes: -iːɐ̯
- (colloquially in unstressed position) IPA(key): /ɐ/
PronounEdit
ihr pl
DeclensionEdit
German personal pronouns
nominative | accusative | genitive | dative | possessive | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st person singular | ich4 | mich | meiner mein3 |
mir | mein | |
2nd person singular (familiar)1 | du (-e) |
dich | deiner dein3 |
dir | dein | |
2nd person singular (polite)6 | m verbs conjugated according to 3rd person sg. er |
er | ihn | seiner sein3 |
ihm | sein |
3rd person singular | m | er | ihn | seiner sein3 |
ihm | sein |
f | sie se5, -se5 |
ihrer | ihr | |||
n | es | seiner sein3 |
ihm | sein | ||
1st person plural | wir4 (mir) |
uns | unser | uns | unser | |
2nd person sg. or pl. (elevated2) |
verbs conjugated according to 2nd person pl. ihr |
Ihr | Euch | Euer | Euch | Euer |
2nd person plural (familiar)1 | ihr | euch | euer | euch | euer | |
2nd person sg. or pl. (polite)7 |
verbs conjugated according to 3rd person pl. sie |
Sie | Ihrer | Ihnen | Ihr | |
3rd person plural | sie | ihrer | ihnen | ihr |
In older language the genitive is also written ewer and the accusative and dative sometimes ewch.
Usage notesEdit
- This form is the plural of du, which is used chiefly towards people with whom one is privately acquainted (see there). One uses ihr towards a group of people if one would address every individual in that group with du. However, the plural ihr is somewhat less familiar than the singular du, meaning that it can sometimes be used in semi-formal situations where du towards an individual would not be appropriate. Learners should still, in any case of doubt, use Sie in order to be on the safe side.
- The form Ihr (capitalized in writing) was formerly the polite second-person form for both singular and plural (compare French vous and Early Modern English you) and was used instead of contemporary Sie. Such usage still survives dialectally in some areas, and is encountered in historical contexts (e.g. fiction taking place in the distant past), but is otherwise rarely heard in standard German.
- As with all personal pronouns, the genitive case is very rare. It is used only in literary and formal style as a genitive object with: verbs such as entbehren and gedenken; and certain adjectives.
- In the late 18th century and in the first half of the 19th century, the genitive was also eurer instead of euer, e.g. ich erinnere mich eurer instead of ich erinnere mich euer.[1][2][3][4][5]
Etymology 2Edit
From Old High German iru, iro.
PronounEdit
ihr
Etymology 3Edit
From Old High German ira.
DeterminerEdit
ihr
- her (possessive)
- Laura hat mir ihr neues Auto gezeigt.
- Laura showed me her new car.
- Die Katze spielt oft mit ihren Spielsachen.
- The cat often plays with her toys.
- its (when the owning object/article/thing/animal etc., referred to, is feminine)
- die Sonne und ihre Wärme
- the sun and its warmth
DeclensionEdit
Declension of ihr | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | plural | |
nominative | ihr | ihre | ihr | ihre |
genitive | ihres | ihrer | ihres | ihrer |
dative | ihrem | ihrer | ihrem | ihren |
accusative | ihren | ihre | ihr | ihre |
Etymology 4Edit
From Old High German iro.
DeterminerEdit
ihr
- their
- Die Kinder spielen mit ihrem Hund.
- The kids are playing with their dog.
- die Wolken und ihre Schönheit
- the clouds and their beauty
DeclensionEdit
Declension of ihr | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | plural | |
nominative | ihr | ihre | ihr | ihre |
genitive | ihres | ihrer | ihres | ihrer |
dative | ihrem | ihrer | ihrem | ihren |
accusative | ihren | ihre | ihr | ihre |
ReferencesEdit
- ^ Karl Ferdinand Becker: Schulgrammatik der deutschen Sprache. Vierte neubearbeitete Ausgabe. Frankfurt am Main, 1839, p. 143.
- ^ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in Götz von Berlichingen: „Götz. Ich erinnere mich eurer nicht.“
- ^ Shakspeare, translated by Aug. Wilh. v. Schlegel and Ludwig Tieck, in Maaß für Maaß: „Herzog. Ich erinnere mich eurer, Herr, an dem Ton eurer Stimme[.]“
- ^ Konrad Duden: Vollständiges Orthographisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. Sechste, verbesserte und vermehrte Auflage. Leipzig and Wien, 1900, p. 102: „euer (Genitiv von ihr); euer (nicht: eurer) sind drei; ich erinnere mich euer (nicht: eurer)“
- ^ Wahrig: Die deutsche Rechtschreibung. Band 1: A–K. Bertelsmann Lexikon Institut, 2007, p. 529: „ich gedenke euer, ich erinnere mich euer (falsch: eurer)“
Further readingEdit
- “ihr” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “ihr, sie, ihre” in Duden online
- “ihr, Anrede, 2. Person” in Duden online
- “ihr, sie, wem” in Duden online
- “ihr, sie, wessen” in Duden online