Unlike English, German does not use a suffix to form a reflexive (myself, yourself, himself, etc.). Instead, individual reflexive pronouns are used. But German has two forms of reflexive pronouns: accusative and dative.
Accusative reflexive pronouns
The accusative reflexive pronouns are so named because they occur where the accusative case is required in the sentence. The accusative case is used:
1. to identify direct objects
2. following accusative prepositions
3. following accusative-dative prepositions
The accusative reflexive pronoun is used when that pronoun and the subject of the sentence are the same person. A personal pronoun is used when that pronoun and the subject of the sentence are different persons. For example:
|
same person
|
I hated myself for doing that.
|
|
different person
|
I hated her for doing that.
|
German works similarly:
|
same person
|
Ich frage mich warum.
|
I ask myself why.
|
|
different person
|
Ich frage sie warum.
|
I ask her why.
|
Let’s look at all the accusative reflexive pronouns and compare them with their personal-pronoun counterparts.
|
nominative
|
accusative personal
|
accusative reflexive
|
||
|
ich
|
mich
|
mich
|
myself
|
|
|
du
|
dich
|
dich
|
yourself
|
|
|
er
|
ihn
|
sich
|
himself
|
|
|
sie
|
sie
|
Sich
|
herself
|
|
|
es
|
es
|
Sich
|
itself
|
|
|
wir
|
uns
|
uns
|
ourselves
|
|
|
ihr
|
euch
|
euch
|
yourselves
|
|
|
Sie
|
Sie
|
sich
|
yourself, yourselves
|
|
|
sie
|
sie
|
sich
|
themselves
|
|
If the subject of a sentence is wer or was, their accusative reflexive pronoun will be sich. This is also true of all singular or plural nouns.
In sentences, the reflexive pronouns occur after the conjugated verb or after a preposition. For example:
|
direct object
|
Ärgere dich nicht!
|
Don’t get angry.
|
|
accusative preposition
|
Sie kaufte etwas für sich.
|
She bought something for herself.
|
|
accusative-dative preposition
|
Ich denke nur an mich selbst.
|
I only think about myself.
|
Dative reflexive pronouns
Dative reflexive pronouns function like the accusative reflexive pronouns, but they are used where the dative case is required:
1. to identify indirect objects
2. to identify objects of dative verbs
3. following dative prepositions
4. following accusative-dative prepositions
The dative reflexive pronoun is used when that pronoun and the subject of the sentence are the same person. A personal pronoun is used when that pronoun and the subject of the sentence are different persons. For example:
|
same person
|
Ich kaufte mir einen neuen Gürtel.
|
I bought myself a new belt.
|
|
different person
|
Ich kaufte ihm einen neuen Gürtel.
|
I bought him a new belt.
|
As you can see from the preceding example, the dative reflexive pronoun mir happens to be the same as the dative personal pronoun mir. This occurs with other pronouns as well. Let’s look at all the dative reflexive pronouns and compare them with their personal-pronoun counterparts.
|
nominative
|
dative personal
|
dative reflexive
|
||
|
ich
|
mir
|
mir
|
myself
|
|
|
du
|
dir
|
dir
|
yourself
|
|
|
er
|
ihm
|
sich
|
himself
|
|
|
sie
|
ihr
|
sich
|
herself
|
|
|
es
|
ihm
|
sich
|
itself
|
|
|
wir
|
uns
|
uns
|
ourselves
|
|
|
ihr
|
euch
|
euch
|
yourselves
|
|
|
Sie
|
Ihnen
|
sich
|
yourself, yourselves
|
|
|
sie
|
ihnen
|
sich
|
themselves
|
|
If the subject of a sentence is wer or was, the dative reflexive pronoun will be sich. This is also true of all singular or plural nouns. In sentences, the reflexive pronouns occur after the conjugated verb or after a preposition. For example:
|
indirect object
|
Kauft ihr euch einen neuen Wagen?
|
Are you buying yourselves a new car?
|
|
dative verb
|
Sie trauen sich diese Arbeit zu.
|
They entrust themselves
with this job.
|
|
dative preposition
|
Ich habe kein Geld bei mir.
|
I don’t have any money
on me.
|
|
accusative-dative
|
Ich verberge das Geschenk
|
I hide the gift behind me.
|
|
preposition
|
hinter mir.
|
|
|
(dative case)
|
Reflexive verbs
German reflexive verbs are always used with reflexive pronouns to achieve their full meaning. It’s like the English verb enjoy oneself. Without the reflexive pronoun or a direct object, the verb makes no sense. For example:
If someone asks, “Did you have fun at the party?”
you cannot reply, “Yes, I really enjoyed.”
To achieve the complete meaning of the verb, the reflexive must be added:
“Yes, I really enjoyed myself.”
This occurs with many German verbs. They are used together with reflexive pronouns to achieve their full meaning. Here are a few commonly used reflexive verbs:
sich befinden be located
sich benehmen behave, conduct oneself
sich erholen recover
sich erinnern remember
sich erkälten catch cold
sich fragen wonder (ask oneself)
sich interessieren be interested (interest oneself)
sich irren be mistaken
sich unterhalten converse