It sounds weird to refer to the bartender as pretty, as only feminine things can be pretty, while guys are handsome. The verb phrase is “berichten von”, so a native speaker would not be confused about the topic vs subject based on context, unless it’s REALLY vague. In fact, even some people from Cologne did it and it’s super odd to me because in Berlin we don’t do it. It always feel a bit strange to me (I’m English) to use er/sie to refer to objects not people, but much less so to use der/die.

• It’s the “topic”, a prepositional object.
• While it either directly stands for a noun (implied like “weird behavior” or explicit like “the book” ).
• This is one of those examples where a learner would ask if they can also use er.
• In Austria (and perhaps southern Germany), when referring to another person who is familiar, it’s usual to use the definite article with their name.
• And er, sie, es are pronouns, so they stand in for persons and things in our sentence.
• Der Computer funktioniert nicht.

And the worst part is the young Swabians were REALLY nice people. I had a period in my life where I knew many young people from Baden-Württemberg and they all did it. In Austria (and perhaps southern Germany), when referring to another person who is familiar, it’s usual to use the definite article with their name.
Please note that in English we use the pronoun it when we talk about ‘objects’ which are not equivalent to people. If you have a noun with a feminine article (die) then the article and the noun can be replaced with sie. Adjust the playback speed for audio examples — still sounds fine down to about 70%. Here, “sie” would sound weird, and “die” doesn’t sound negative or distanced.

• I can’t feel it at all either.
• It’s not really wrong, but it does sound a bit odd and I don’t think a German would use it.
• Only capitalization and context distinguish them.
• Sometimes you can but they feel different.
• Which can make you feel lost… but it can also feel like freedom.
• The fastest way to internalize the link between articles and pronouns is through repeated practice.

er, sie, es and der, die das – What’s the Difference – Key Questions

In the first example, it sounds REALLY weird, aphrodite casino in the second one, both sound okay. And er, sie, es are pronouns, so they stand in for persons and things in our sentence. If you’re looking for my lessons, articles about topics or resources I have posted about, search here.

Why Do Germans Say “sie” for So Many Things?

There is one on “Das habe ich auf bemerkt” That should probably be an ‘Auch’ And please do make a quiz or exercise about this topic! But I have a question – this also works for plural, right? But in Berlin, we don’t do that. The question mark immediately after the name is implied. Sounds fine to my ear but probably weird to the north German ear.
Sometimes you can but they feel different. ‘es’ is too bland for referring to a specific thing at the start of a sentence. ‘er’, ‘sie’, ‘es’ are neutral stand-ins. Meanwhile, if you have any questions or suggestions, just leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to clear things up. So yeah… I think this might actually be worth a proper practice session so I’ll see that I’ll set one up for the coming weeks. I kind of feel that some of you are probably a little disappointed because you expected some more clear cut rules.
I think the most important aspect is definitely the pointy-ness though and in the right context, that can be used to make your sentence less ambiguous. And in reverse, when talking about things, they still might use der or die, because er or sie feels a bit too much like a person. This is quite subtle, and it doesn’t always matter, but in some contexts, it can make a difference in tone.

How Does Noun Gender Affect Pronouns in German?

Ob der da ist oder nicht ist mir total egal. But using ‘der’ or ‘die’ can sound a bit distant or dismissive compared to ‘er’ or ‘sie’. ‘der’ and ‘die’ are more pointy and work nicely in sentence-initial spots.

— You are coming.ihr (dative of sie)her / to herIch gebe ihr das Buch. FormMeaningExamplesie (+ singular verb)she / it (feminine)Sie kommt. The table is masculine, so it gets the masculine pronoun.

400+ quizzes, games, and AI pronunciation practice — all in one app. Conjugations can seem confusing, but just listen to the lesson and answer the question and you’ll get them. Repeat this lesson until you can easily answer the questions. If you have a noun with a masculine article (der) then the article and the noun can be replaced with er. Hidden-language examples are blurred — click a blurred example to reveal it. Looking forward to the practice session.
It’s NOT about the difference between der, die and das. This was not topic of the article at all. Why not address the reason for 3 versions of the same pronoun or definite & indefinite articles right up front? ’, although I know you can also use ‘der’ for people so that’s probably just an effect of (mis-)translation….