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Difference between sie (She) and sie (they) in German.
Does anyone know cause I am confused!
19 Comments
Verb example: Trinken
sie = she = sie trinkt
sie = they = sie trinken
Sie = you (formal) Sie trinken
so there are three 'sie'? but dont they and you(formal) have the same form of verb?
yes it all good in writing but what about when someone is speaking. How do you tell the difference then?
From context.
''Sie hat'' = She has. ''Sie haben'' = They have. ''Sie haben'' = You have. (formal/polite/nonfamiliar)
You can know it from the verb usage, or from the context; if you speak to an older person, or hear someone doing it to another, then you know they mean the third one.
Yes they do! Good observation.
And yes, Sie (formal you) is always capitalized.
If one is using pronouns, you will likely already know what the person is referring to. For example, if I have been talking about my mother, then switch to "sie," your brain will automatically assume that I am talking about my mother still. It seems abstract on Duolingo because of how the system is set up, but it clicks in real life.
JOAT2B and Bob20020 are correct.
For example:
Sie hat ein = She has one
Sie haben ein = They have one
Sprichst du Deutsch? Do you speak German? (Informal)
Sprecht ihr Deutsch? Do you speak German? Informal, Plural
Spricht sie Deutsch? Does she speak German?
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Do you speak German? ( Formal)
Sprechen sie Deutsch? Do they speak German? Plural)
It all comes down to the context. If you're talking to one or more elderly women and ask all of them whether they speak German you've been formal to more than one woman. Sprechen/Können Sie Deutsch?
If you're talking to one elderly woman you've "siezed" one woman. Sprechen/Können Sie Deutsch?
if you're in a mall and you start to wonder whether that group of people in the corner speak German you'd say something along the line: Was denkst du? Sprechen/Können sie Deutsch?
Trust me ... when you're in that situation you will know what "sie" people are talking about =) Easy as pie.
In English it's the same ... Do you know them? You're talking to one guy. Do you know them? You're talking to a group. Your highness, do you know them? You#re talking to the queen :D
Luckily the difference becomes more apparent when using the dative case:
Wie geht's ihr? (How is she doing?)
Wie geht's Ihnen? (How are you doing?) formal
Wie geht's ihnen? (How are they doing?) Ok, so the same problem there when speaking but you will understand depending on the context
:-)
As mizinamo pointed out, technically "ihr" would be translated as "to/for her" in the dative case. The dative case of she (ihr) is used in certain contexts and with certain verbs. Take "helfen" (to help) for instance. You always use the dative case with this verb. "Ich habe ihr geholfen" (I helped her).
Wie geht's ihr? would be literally translated to "How is it going for her?".
You use "ihr" when the woman in question is not the direct object of the sentence, such as "Ich liebe sie" (I love her), but rather the indirect object in the sentence: "Ich schicke ihr einen Brief" (I send a letter to her).
As you can see, "she" and "her" are used differently in German versus English. Many German-learners find this to be quite confusing in the beginning (myself included). But of course once you know that some verbs simply dictate that you use the dative case and you can easily identify the direct/indirect objects in a sentence, it becomes quite easy.
Hope that helps!
