ihr
See also: Ihr
Contents
GermanEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle High German ir, from Old High German ir, from West Germanic *jīz, variant of Proto-Germanic *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́. Cognate with Low German ji, jie, Dutch jij, gij, je, English ye, Gothic 𐌾𐌿𐍃 (jūs).
PronounEdit
ihr pl
InflectionEdit
German personal pronouns
| nominative | accusative | genitive | dative | possessive | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular | ich | mich | meiner († mein) |
mir | mein | |
| 2nd person singular (familiar)1 | du | dich | deiner († dein) |
dir | dein | |
| 3rd person singular | m | er | ihn | seiner († sein) |
ihm | sein |
| f | sie | ihrer | ihr | |||
| n | es | seiner († sein) |
ihm | sein | ||
| 1st person plural | wir | uns | unser | uns | unser | |
| 2nd person plural (familiar)1 | ihr | euch | euer | euch | euer | |
| 3rd person plural | sie | ihrer | ihnen | ihr | ||
| polite address | naturally: 2nd person sg. or pl.; grammatically: 3rd person pl. |
Sie | Ihrer | Ihnen | Ihr | |
1Often capitalized, especially in letters
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 with verbs such as entbehren and gedenken that take a genitive object, or certain adjectives that take a genitive object.
- 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
InflectionEdit
| 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
InflectionEdit
| 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)“