Functions of Nouns

A Brief Introduction for Students learning German

Examples of Functions Definitions:

(Follow the word dog in these examples and see how the dog function:
operates differently in each example.) how nouns and pronouns operate in a sentence - the
manner in which they perform in the context of a
sentence (performer, victim, recipient, etc.)

1. The dog chased the squirrel out of our yard. noun:

performer, actor, do-er, agent = subject a word that names something can take words such as
the or this are capitalized in German can take
2. The neighbor girls petted the dog all afternoon. description using adjectives (the red book) nouns
acted on, victim, do-ee, patient = direct object must take function within a sentence

3. The boys tossed a cookie to the dog. pronoun:

recipient, getter of a gift, = beneficiary / indirect object
4. (The boys tossed the dog a cookie. - alternate of no. 3)
(recipient, getter of a gift= beneficiary / indirect object)
5. Jody painted the dogs hut last week.
owner, possessor of something = possessor
6. Barb shook some flea powder over the dog.
location, destination = locative / destinative
a short word that replaces a noun along with all the
other words associated with that noun it replaces the
following three words: the red book
nominal:
generic term for nouns and pronouns
verb:
a word that shows action, process or state of being
typically takes endings and always agrees
grammatically with the subject

7. That ball of fur is really the dog. agent:

the element in a sentence that performs the action
re-names, equal to, same as = predicate nominal
indicated by the verb

8. Suzette walked to the park with the dog. subject:

together with, companionship = accompaniment the grammatical element in a sentence to which the
verb agrees the subject is always in the nominative
case in active-voice sentences, the subject and agent
are the same

patient:
Cases associated with Noun Functions in German an element in a sentence that is acted on - the agent
acts on the patient via the verb
There are more functions of nouns than there are cases in German
to represent those functions. Therefore, each case can represent direct object:
multiple functions. an element in a sentence that is acted on by the
subject the direct object is nearly always in the
accusative case in active-voice sentences, the direct
function associated case object and patient are the same

beneficiary:
subject nominative a recipient, typically a person receives the direct
object from the subject through the action of the verb
direct object accusative
indirect object:
beneficiary dative another name for beneficiary

predicate noun nominative predicate nominal:

an element in a sentence that re-names the subject
possessive genitive an additional word in the sentence that is equal to or
becomes the subject
locative dative
oblique object :
accompaniment dative
any nominal element that is not the subject, neither
direct nor indirect object, not a predicate noun the
target accusative object of a preposition is an oblique object
 Functions of Nouns
The following is a partial list of some of the functions that nouns can have in a sentence. When composing or analyzing
sentences in German or English, it is critically important that every noun/pronoun be identified based on its funtion. Here
are some clues to help recognize the functions of nouns/pronouns:

Subject (das Subjekt): nominative case (Nominativ)

C The person or element that is performing the action of the verb is called the subject. The subject is the element in the
sentence with which the verb has grammatical agreement. The do-er, perpetrator, actor, performer, or that which is
responsible for carrying out the event in the sentence is the subject. To find the subject of a sentence, find the verb and
then find who or what is verbing.

Sylvia is taking out the garbage. Where did Rufus leave his books?
Do you have any money? Who will help me?
Where are my glasses? That was an interesting proposition.
They are in Greece this summer. No one explained that to me.
Does this picture strike your fancy? Sally always sends her friends a card on their birthday.

C In German, the subject always takes the nominative case, but there is never a guarantee that the subject is in first position.
Einen neuen Wagen hat die Familie endlich gekauft.

C The subject is also that element which exists when used with verbs denoting states of being such as be, become,
remain, appear as,etc.

The students were seldom angry.

Despite the glacial action many stones remained on the mountainside.
In her twenties, the rather ugly girl became a strikingly beautiful young woman.

Direct Object (das direkte Objekt): accusative case (Akkusativ)

C The element in the sentence that the subject is acting on is called the direct object. The direct object is the person or thing
to which the action is being directed. The subject transfers the action of the verb to the direct object. The direct object is
never connected into the sentence via some mitigating word such as a preposition, rather it is acted upon directly hence
the term direct object. To discover if there is a direct object in the sentence, find the verb and then see if there is
someone or something being verbed.

We washed the dog last night. Sharon has a beautiful new car.
Did you bring me any ice cream? Why did they leave that old house?
I hate this work. You shouldnt have driven your car off the bridge.
Where do you keep your money?

C In German, the direct object nearly always takes the accusative case. There are a few instances where the direct object will
take the dative, but this is only with a few selected verbs called (appropriately) dative verbs. When in doubt, one should
assume that the direct object takes the accusative case. It is probably best to call dative direct objects object of a dative
verb.

Ich habe dem alten Mann geholfen. (helfen takes a dative object.)
Wir mchten dir fr das teure Geschenk danken. (danken takes a dative object.)

Beneficiary (das indirekte Objekt): dative case (Dativ)

C The person who receives the direct object is called a beneficiary. Beneficiaries are found in sentences where the verb
indicates an action of giving, telling, or showing. To find if there is a beneficiary in the sentence, look for the verb and
determine if it has the meaning of giving, telling. or showing. Then find the person who is being given, told, or shown
something. That person is the beneficiary.

The committee is forwarding us the report. (forwarding has the notion of giving.)
He often pours her a cup of coffee before she gets up. (pouring conveys giving.)
They told their son the good news about his scholarship.

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C Beneficiaries sometimes show up after the words to and for when the sense of the verb means giving, telling, or
showing.

Would you please write a letter to the chairperson? Dont give any more treats to that dog!
Ive prepared quite a long list of names for you. Can you explain the results to me?

C Notice in all of these examples of beneficiaries, there is also a direct object in each sentence. In German, the beneficiary
takes the dative case. Since two of the meanings associated with the dative are to someone and for someone, German
does not need to include the words to or for when expressing the beneficiary.

Knnten Sie bitte dem Vorsitzenden einen Brief schreiben? Gib dem Hund keine Leckerbissen mehr!
Ich habe dir eine ziemlich lange Namensliste vorbereitet. Kannst du mir bitte die Ergebnisse erklren?

Predicate Noun (Predikatnomen): nominative case (Nominativ)

C A noun that is equal to, or renames the subject, is called a predicate nuon. The predicate noun usually appears after the
verb. The predicate noun can never be the object of a preposition and will always be in the nominative case. Predicate
nouns can only be used when the verb is intransitive (no direct object in the sentence). The predicate noun is also referred
to as a predicate noun.

My brother is a good businessman. This seems like a good idea.

C Predicate nouns frequently appear with equational verbs such as be, remain, become or look like.
The old train station remained an eyesore for years. You look like a million dollars.

C Often, predicate nouns appear after the word as.

She was serving as the president of the department.

C Predicate nouns appear after the verb heien in German.

Mein Vater heit Heinrich.

C Predicate nouns that name people and are used without adjectives usually take no indefinite article in German.
Meine Tante ist jetzt wieder Studentin geworden. Otto wurde letztes Jahr Zahnarzt.

Object of a Preposition: accusative, dative, genitive (depending on the preposition)

C A noun (or pronoun) connected into a sentence via a preposition is called the object of a preposition. These nouns can never
be a subject, direct object, predicate noun. These nouns follow their preposition and always take a case other than
nominative. Prepositions in the following sentences are marked bold face.

She rode her bike with him. Dont spend so much time gruelling over the answer.
The monks plant lilies along the river every year. I need to go to the store now.
The cat is lying on the bed. She is thinking about her new boyfriend.

C Unfortunately, the term Object of a Preposition is very generic and gives very little information concerning the true
function of the noun. When analyzing the funtion of a noun, it is more accurate to include the specific funtion that the
object of that preposition indicates:

temporal (time)
locative (location)
comitative (accompaniment)
destinative (destination)
instrumental (tool)
causative (reason)
figurative (abstract)
The merchandise will arrive in a week. (on Thursday, within a month)
She wants to repair the tile over the bathtub. (under the counter, in her kitchen)
The children visted the zoo with their father. (along with a friend)
The Martians sent their messages to Earth. (toward Andromeda)
We sent a signal with a mirror. (by means of telepathy)
They became frightened because of the lightning. (due to the wind)
Hes waiting for his wife. Shes thinking about her husband.

C The case of the object of a preposition is dependent on the preposition. The student of German must simply memorize
which case each preposition governs. There is no logic or predictable pattern to this. For example, the preposition mit
(with) governs dative, however the preposition ohne (without) governs accusative.

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Other Functions of Nouns:
C This is by no means an exhaustive list of the functions of nouns. There are many more functions that are not as evident as
the subject, direct object, object of a preposition, etc. For the student of German, it is important to know also that there
are functions of nouns which have no exact equivalent in English. Some examples of these are listed below:

Accusative of Span Dative Experiencer

(shows distance travelled) (shows perception detected by animate beings)
Er fuhr die Strae hinunter. Es geht uns jetzt sehr gut.
Sie lief die Treppe herauf. Der Fu tut mir weh.
Das Bier schmeckt den Auslndern nicht.
Accusative of Goal
(shows destination with certain prepositions) Dative of Place
Der Zug ist gerade in den Tunnel gefahren. (shows location with certain prepositions)
Jemand ist in das Haus hereingekommen. Die Bergleute arbeiten im Tunnel.
Die Kinder sind in den See gesprungen. Jemand bleibt in dem Haus.
Die Kinder spielen in dem See.
Accusative of Duration and Repetition
(shows length of time or repeated action) Dative Locator
Wir mssen den ganzen Tag arbeiten. (shows ownership of body parts and clothing)
Ich habe eine Stunde auf dich gewartet. Wir mssen uns die Hnde waschen.
Jeden Montag erscheint die neuste Ausgabe. Warum kmmst du dir die Haare so oft.
Sie hat alle zwei Wochen ihre Mutter besucht. Er hat sich die Haare schneiden lassen.

Dative Possessor (with verb gehren)

(shows ownership)
Diese Bcher gehren mir nicht.
Wem gehrt das Zeug hier?

C In German and English, every noun (and pronoun) used within the context of a sentence has a function. The function of
each noun determines the case of that noun. Student of grammar who analyze German or English sentences must be able
to name the function of every noun and pronoun in every sentence. Student who compose written material in German
must be aware of the function of each noun and pronoun that they write. Students must then apply the appropriate case to
each noun and pronoun in written (and spoken) German.

Topic (this is not a noun function):

C A word of caution is extended to those who wish to focus on the informational focus of a sentence. This is a semantic
question rather than a grammatical one. What the sentence is about is called the topic and does not offer much help in
determining the function of nouns. The topic can be nearly any element in the sentence and does not govern a nouns
grammatical function. The topic is determined by the context of the discourse regardless of grammatical function.

Did you guys take care of the food? - Yes, we ordered a pizza.
The topics are food (object of a preposition) and pizza (direct object).
What about Ralph? - Dont worry. I already gave him the money.
The topic is Ralph. Ralph is a predicate noun, and him is a beneficiary.
Lets go swimming! - I hate swimming, it clogs my ears!
The topic is swimming which is the verb in the first sentence, the direct object in the next and the subject in the last.
I thought you got rid of your old furniture. - No, youre sitting on it.
The topic is furniture, a direct object in one sentence and a location (object of a preposition) in the other.

C In German, the topic is sometimes marked with an adverb such as nmlich.

Wir sind nmlich nach Basel gefahren. (Basel is the topic and functions as the object of preposition.)
Dieser Mensch, den du meinst, ist nmlich mein Freund. (Freund is the topic and functions as a predicate noun.)
The topic, whether in German or English, has no bearing on case grammar.
The topic is not inherently related to the subject or direct object, etc. Do not confuse the notion of topic with subject.

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Plural Forms of Nouns
Examples of the most prevalent patterns in German

(no change) ( (add Umlaut)

das Fenster (die Fenster) windows der Garten (die Grten) gardens
der Amerikaner (die Amerikaner) Americans der Bruder (die Brder) brothers
das Mdchen (die Mdchen) girls der Mantel (die Mntel) winter coats
der Onkel (die Onkel) uncles die Tochter (die Tchter) daughters

e (add e) ( e (add Umlaut plus e)

der Tag (die Tage) days der Stuhl (die Sthle) chairs
der Stein (die Steine) stones, rocks die Wand (die Wnde) walls
der Bleistift (die Bleistifte) pencils der Gast (die Gste) guests
das Jahr (die Jahre) years der Ton (die Tne) sounds, tones

er (add er) ( er (add Umlaut plus er)

das Kind (die Kinder) children das Buch (die Bcher) books
das Brett (die Bretter) boards, shelves das Haus (die Huser) houses
das Mitglied (die Mitglieder) members der Mann (die Mnner) men, husbands
das Ei (die Eier) eggs das Fahrrad (die Fahrrder) bicycles

n (add n) en (add en)

der Junge (die Jungen) boys die Frau (die Frauen) women, wives
die Lampe (die Lampen) lamps Uhr (die Uhren) clocks, watches
das Auge (die Augen) eyes die Zeitung (die Zeitungen) nespapers
die Schssel (die Schsseln) bowls der Professor (die Professoren) professors

nen (add nen) s (add s)

die Studentin (die Studentinnen) female students das Auto (die Autos) cars
die Amerikanerin (die Amerikanerinnen) Am. women das Radio (die Radios) radios
die Franzsin (die Franzsinnen) French women das Kino (die Kinos) movie theaters
die Arbeiterin (die Arbeiterinnen) female workers das Kamera (die Kameras) cameras

um 6 en (change um to en) (selected foreign plurals)

das Museum (Museen) museums das Thema (die Themen) topics
das Gymnasium (die Gymnasien) high schools das Chemikal (die Chemikalien) chemicals
das Planetarium (die Planetarien) planetariums das Mineral (die Mineralien) minerals
das Bakterium (die Bakterien) bateria das Material (die Materialien) materials
SCHWACHES MASKULINUM
(Weak Masculine N Nouns)

In the German language, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of nouns that take a special set of declensional endings. These nouns are
called weak nouns (in German schwaches Maskulinum).

The trait of schwaches Maskulinum only ever occurs among masculine nouns. Feminine and neuter nouns never decline in German.
Keep in mind that the majority of masculine nouns in German are not weak. Its only a small group of masculine nouns that fall under
the classification of weak.

Its not possible for the beginning student of German to identify which nouns are weak. Although there are some hints that help
indicate which nouns are weak, its easier for the beginner to simply memorize several of these nouns. As the student develops awareness
of the German grammar, these nouns and their declensional endings should be committed to memory.

Some nouns belonging to the category of schwaches Maskulinum:

Student (student) Herr (man, mister, lord) Paragraf (paragraph)

Nachbar (neighbor) Mensch (person, human) Planet (planet)
Junge (boy) Kapitalist (capitalist) Soldat (soldier)

The declensional endings are consistent among all weak nouns. There is no declension in the nominative singular. All other cases
decline with an n or en. All cases in the plural, including nominative, take the same declensional pattern as in the singular.

The declensional pattern for Schwaches Maskulinum:

Singular Plural

Nominative der Nachbar die Nachbarn (the neighbor / the neighbors)

Accusative den Nachbarn die Nachbarn
Dative dem Nachbarn den Nachbarn
Genitive des Nachbarn der Nachbarn

Nominative der Mensch die Menschen (the person / the people)

Accusative den Menschen die Menschen
Dative dem Menschen den Menschen
Genitive des Menschen der Menschen

The distinction between n or en is based on the ease of pronunciation as the Germans perceive it.
The one exception is Herr. This noun declines in the singular as Herrn and in all plural forms as Herren.

Example sentences with Nachbar:

Der Nachbar gegenber ist sehr alt. subj. / nom. The neighbor across the street is very old.
Ich kenne den Nachbarn nicht besonders gut. dir. obj. / acc. I dont know the neighbor especially well.
Wir geben dem Nachbarn unsere alten Zeitungen. bene. / dat. We give our old newspapers to the neighbor.
Die Frau des Nachbarn spricht Arabisch. poss. / gen. The wife of the neighbor speaks Arabic.
Die Nachbarn sind sehr nett. (plur) subj. / nom. The neighbors are very nice.
Personal Pronouns
Preliminary Notes - For Lectures - Please Watch for errors

Personal pronouns are words that are used to take the place of nouns. After the speaker has made reference to a noun, then a
pronoun can be substituted for that noun from then on in the discourse. A personal pronoun carries somewhat different
information from the noun it replace.s The most important feature of a personal pronouns is that it indicates the perspective of
the speaker. Here are some examples in English of perspective. The noun we will be replacing is John.

John is a nice man.

If the speaker is talking to someone about John, then there are three people involved in the perspective: the speaker, the listener,
and a third person John. We can replace John with he.

He is a nice man.

The perspective of the speaker in relationship to John is remote. John is a third party not involved in the conversation. The
perspective of the pronoun he shows about. This is called third person.

If John is being addressed directly, then the perspective of the speaker is one in which John and the speaker are in contact with
each other. There are only two people involved in the situation, and John is the second person. We replace John with you.

You are a nice man.

The pronoun you is called second person. The perspective of the pronoun you shows to.

If the noun being replaced is also the name of the speaker, then a pronoun is used to indicate that John and the speaker are one
in the same:

"I am a nice man."

"I" is used to replace "John". There is only one person involved in this act, and John is it. This is called first person. The
perspective of "first person" is "self".

The following is a chart of the above information:

I 1st person the pronoun indicates the noun is equal to the speaker "self"
you 2nd person the pronoun indicates the noun is being addressed "to"
he 3rd person the pronoun indicates the noun is being referred to "about"

We can make a further distinction in the third person, one of gender. If the noun is feminine, we replace it with "she", and if
the noun is neuter, we replace it with "it". In German, all nouns, regardless of whether they are people or not, have gender.
Each noun must take a gender appropriate pronoun. Example: the word for "table" (Tisch) in German is masculine. The
pronoun to replace "table" must also be masculine. The German word for "child" (Kind) is neuter and must be replaced with a
neuter pronoun.
 Personal Pronouns
Page 2

The German equivalents to the above mentioned pronouns are:

I ich he (it) er
you du she (it) sie
it es (er, sie)

Notice that all of the above pronouns are singular, that is they are replacing only one thing. Notice also that the pronoun "ich"
is not capitalized.

If the noun is plural, then the pronoun must also agree in number with the noun being replaced. Let us take the example "John
and Mary are nice." To indicate that there are multiple nouns being replaced we use the pronoun "they". This is third person
plural pronoun.

"They are nice".

If we put "John and Mary" into second person, we obtain the following sentence.

"You are nice".

Notice that English does not make a distinction between singular and plural in the second person. Some dialects try to make
this distinction.

"You guys are nice." " "Y'all are nice."

These are all methods that incorporate some kind of plural marker in the second person. German has a fully incorporated
second person plural which must always be used when the pronoun is plural.

There is also first person plural.

"We are nice"

Here John and Mary are both speaking. "We" is the first person plural pronoun.

These are the plural personal pronouns in German:

we wir
y'all (you guys) ihr (used with a group of people on a first name basis)
they sie

The technical term for the distinction between singular and plural is called "number".

There is an additional feature in German to the pronoun system. This is one of register (degree of formality). If the second
person pronoun is used and the speaker feels distance or unfamiliarity with the person being spoken to, then a special pronoun
indicating formal register is used. This pronoun is "Sie". Notice that "Sie" is always capitalized. "Sie" functions as both singular
and plural. There is no exaxt equivalent in English to this pronoun. The German pronoun "Sie" means "you" but when
speaking to someone on a last name basis.
 Personal Pronouns
Page 3

Here is now the entire set of pronouns in German with their English equivalents.
These are the nominative forms only. (Other case forms are listed below.)

singular plural

1st person ich I wir we

2nd familiar du you (first name basis) ihr y'all (you guys)
2nd formal Sie you (last name basis) Sie you

3rd masculine er he sie they

3rd feminine sie she
3rd neuter es it

Notice that several of the pronouns have the same form "sie". Only the verb conjugation will show a difference between feminine and
plural, and only the captialization shows a difference between formal "you" and plural. Notice also that there is no gender distinction in
the plural.

It is important to note that all of these pronouns also show case grammar. Here is a chart listing the various forms of the pronouns and
their cases. The arrangement of the pronouns has been somewhat simplified.

Nominative Accusative Dative

singular pronouns

I / me / to me, for me ich mich mir

you / you / to you, for you (familiar) du dich dir

you / you / to you, for you (formal) Sie Sie Ihnen

he / him / to him er ihn ihm

she / her / to her sie sie ihr
it / it / to it es es ihm

plural pronouns

we / us / to us wir uns uns

you / you / to you, for you (familiar) ihr euch euch

you / you / to you, for you (formal) Sie Sie Ihnen

they / them / to them sie sie ihnen

man

The indefinite pronoun man has many meanings.

Among them are: they, you, one, people, somebody, etc.

When used as a subject, man requires that the verb in German conjugate to third person singular.
(Its the same conjugation as with er, sie, es.)
man glaubt, man sagt, man wei (people believe, they say, one knows)

The word man is a pronoun and is never capitalized except at the beginning of a sentence.
Its important to distinguish the spelling and grammar of man from the noun der Mann, the husband, the man.

Read and contemplate the following examples with their translations:

Diese alten Huser will man abreien.

They want to tear down these old houses. (One wishes to tear down these old houses.)

Man trgt diese Farbe nicht mehr.

This color isnt worn anymore. People arent wearing this color anymore. (One doesnt wear this color anymore.)

Man kann nie wissen.

You never know. (One can never know.)

Das tut man nicht.

Thats not done. You shouldnt do that. (One doesnt do that.)

Man hat mir erklrt, dass

It was explained to me that Someone explained to me that (One explained to me that )

Man hat festgestellt, dass

Its been established that (One has established that )

Jetzt glaubt man, dass

People now believe that (One now believes that )

Man kennt mich dort.

Im known there. People know me there. (One knows me there.)

fters versucht man,

Frequently people attempt Attempts are frequently made (Frequently one attempts )
MISCELLANEOUS PRONOUNS
(preliminary information)

nominative accusative dative (genitive) English

man (einer) einen einem mans one, they, you, people, etc.

T J P
jemand jemanden jemandem jemands someone

niemand niemanden niemandem neimands no one

alle (plural) alle allen everyone

alles (singular) alles allem everything

nichts nichts nichts nothing

irgendjemand irgendjemanden irgendjemandem irgendjemands someone (very indeterminate)

etwas etwas etwas something

irgendetwas irgendetwas irgendetwas something (very indeterminate)

The possessive adjective sein can NOT refer to the pronoun man.
Typically a definite article is used with the adjective eigen- (own) to show possession with man.
(Ex: Man mu den eignen Pinsel mitbringen. One must bring ones [own] paintbrush along.)

Note the distinction between nicht (not) and nichts (nothing).

The word nicht is an adverb and is typically used to negate a verb or a specific element in a sentence.
The word nichts is a pronoun and can act as a subject, direct object, etc.

OTHER WORDS WITH CASE FORMS

irgendwelch- / irgendein- (some [noun] of indeterminate quality, some kind of)

The determiners irgendwelch- and irgendein- take the case and gender endings based on the following noun.
The endings on irgendwelch- follow the same principles as for welch-.
Wir haben irgendwelchen Film gesehen. We saw some old movie.
The endings on irgendein- follow the same principles as for ein-.
Das mu irgendeine exotische Blume sein. That must be some kind of exotic flower.

selbe (exaxtly the same, identical, the very same one)

The adjective selbe takes adjective endings and attaches to the right of a definite article.
Wir haben denselben Kurs mitgemacht. We took exactly the same course.
Ich habe genau dasselbe gedacht. I thought the very same thing.
Erika hat bei derselben Firma gearbeitet wie ich. Erika worked for the same company that I did.
Ralf wohnt jetzt in demselben Wohnheim wie du. Ralf lives in the same dorm as you.
Das sind dieselben Hausaufgaben wie von gestern. That is the exact same homework as yesterday.
Reflexive Particles

Subject Accusative Dative Subject Accusative Dative

Pronoun Reflexive Reflexive Pronoun Reflexive Reflexive

ich (I) mich mir wir (we) uns uns

du (you) dich dir ihr (you) euch euch

Sie (you) sich sich

er (he, it) sich sich

sie (she, it) sich sich sie (they) sich sich
es (it, he, she) sich sich

The reflexive particle must agree with the subject pronoun in the sentence.
With most verbs, the reflexive particle takes the accusative case.
The reflexive particle used with many German verbs has no English equivalent and is not translated.

Example sentences using the reflexive verb sich amsieren to have fun .

Ich amsiere mich immer bei Schmidts. I always have a good time at the Schmidts place.
Du amsierst dich immer bei Schmidts. You always has a good time at the Schmidts place.

Sie amsiert sich immer bei Schmidts. She always has a good time at the Schmidts place.

Wir amsiern uns immer bei Schmidts. We always have a good time at the Schmidts place.

Ihr amsiert euch immer bei Schmidts. You always have a good time at the Schmidts place.

Sie amsiern sich immer bei Schmidts. You always have a good time at the Schmidts place.

Sie amsiern sich immer bei Schmidts. They always have a good time at the Schmidts place.

Example sentences using the dative reflexive particle with the verb sich leisten knnen to be able to afford .

Ich kann mir kein neues Auto leisten. I cant afford a new car.
Du kannst dir kein neues Auto leisten. You cant afford a new car.

Er kann sich kein neues Auto leisten. He cant afford a new car.

Wir knnen uns kein neues Auto leisten. We cant afford a new car.

Ihr knnt euch kein neues Auto leisten. You cant afford a new car.

Sie knnen sich kein neues Auto leisten. You cant afford a new car.

Sie knnen sich kein neues Auto leisten. They cant afford a new car.
four words in German related to who
wer - nominative (who) (used as subject, verb conjugates to 3sg)
wen - accusative (whom) (used as direct object, obj. of acc. prep., etc.)
wem - dative (to whom / for whom) (used as beneficiary, obj. of dat. prep., etc.)
wessen - genitive (whose) (shows possession, always followed by a noun; forms a syntactic unit with the following noun)

wer - nominative (who)

Wer besucht uns heute? Who is visiting us today?

Wer ist das? Who is that?
Wer hat dir den Brief geschrieben? Who wrote you the letter?
Wer mchte Kaffee trinken? Who would like to have coffee?
Wer kennt ihn? Who knows him?

wen - accusative (whom)

Wen siehst du? Who do you see? (Whom do you see?)

Wen magst du? Who do you like? (Whom do you like?)
Wen hast du gesehen. Who did you see? (Whom did you see?)
Wen kennt er? Who does he know? (Whom does he know?)
Fr wen hat sie gearbeitet? Who did she work for? (For whom did she work?)
Fr wen hast du gewhlt? Wo did you vote for? (For whom did you vote?)

wem - dative (to whom / for whom)

Wem gibst du das Geld?
Wem schreibt er den Brief?
Wem mchtest du die Geschichte vorlesen?
Mit wem fhrt sie nach Bochum?
Wem hast du das Geschenk geschickt?
Bei wem haben die Studenten gewohnt?
Who are you giving the money to? (To whom are you giving the money?)
Who is he writing the letter to? (To whom is he writing the letter?)
Who would you like to read the story to? (To whom read the story?)
Who is she going to Bochum with? (With whom is she going to Bochum?)
Who did you send the present to? (To whom did you send the present?)
Who did the students live with? (With whom did the students live?)

wessen - genitive (whose + noun)

Wessen Auto ist das? Whose car is that?

Wessen Kugelschreiber hast du? Whose pen do you have?
Wessen Kinder sind durch das Zimmer gelaufen? Whose children ran through the room?
Wessen Brief liest du? Whose letter are you reading?
Wessen Computer hast du gekauft? Whose computer did you purchase?