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Grammatik 2-3 ~ Familiar and Polite Pronoun Forms
Many pronouns were introduced in Lesson 1. In 
Grammatik 2-1
and 
Gespräch 2-1
we have been 
presented with the following additional pronouns:
Ihnen
– (to) you (2nd person singular, dative case)
ihr
– you (2nd person, plural, nominative case)
sie
– they (3rd person, plural, nominative case) 
Sie
– you (2nd person, singular, nominative case)
wir
– we (1st person, plural, nominative case)
In the conversations between friends presented in 
Gespräche 1-1
and 
1-2
 (
Lektion 1
) the 
familiar
form 
of the personal pronouns (e.g., 
du
, 
dir
) was used. However, German also has a 
polite
or 
formal
form of 
some of these personal pronouns. The polite form is used in conversations between strangers and more 
formal situations, as illustrated in the 
Gespräch 2-1
: greetings between business associates.
The polite form is always first-letter capitalized in German, which can be helpful in differentiating 
Sie 
(you) from 
sie
(she and they); 
Ihnen
(you) from 
ihnen
(them). However, you will soon learn that the 
form of the 
verb
(see 
Grammatik 2-3
below) is most telling, as shown by these example pairs using the 
verb, 
haben
(have):
Haben Sie eine Zigarette?
Do you have a cigarette?
(polite form of you)
Sie hat keine Wurst und keinen Käse.
She has no sausage and no 
cheese.
Sie haben viel Arbeit.
They have much work (to do).
Haben sie zu viel Arbeit?
Do they have too much work?
Because the first letter in a sentence is always capitalized, we cannot determine (without the verb form) 
whether the second and third examples begin with 
sie
('she' or 'they') or with 
Sie
(polite 'you'); a 
problem that would also exist in conversation. The fourth example, where subject and verb are reversed 
in a question, demonstrates the pronoun 'they'; compare it with the polite 'you' in the first example.
It is relatively easy for an English speaker to appreciate how context, especially in conversation, 
overcomes confusion considering that English has fewer forms for these pronouns than German. 
However, this fact does present some difficulty when learning German, since improper use of a 
pronoun may just create confusion in speaking or writing German.