How to Say 'How Are You?' & 'I'm Sorry' in German: The 'Es' & Dative Explained
Mastering "How Are You?" and "I'm Sorry" in German: The Dative Twist
Hello German learners!
Two phrases you'll use every day are "How are you?" and "I'm sorry." In German, these essential expressions come with a fascinating grammatical nuance: the person involved isn't the sentence subject, but rather takes the **Dative case**! This is a common point where learners encounter the subtleties of **German grammar**, moving beyond the Nominative.
Instead of saying "I am going well" (Nominative subject 'I'), German uses structures like Mir geht es gut ("To me it goes well"), where mir is the Dative form of 'I'. Similarly, saying sorry often involves the Dative pronoun for the person you are apologizing to.
In this guide, we'll delve into how these sentences are correctly built, explain *why* German uses the Dative here, and show you how to use the appropriate **German Dative pronouns** for different people (like mir
- to me, dir
- to you, ihm
- to him, ihr
- to her, uns
- to us, euch
- to you plural informal, ihnen
- to them, and Ihnen
- to you formal). Mastering these everyday, yet crucial, structures is a significant step in becoming proficient in German.
Understanding concepts like the Dative case for these key phrases is integral to building fluency. Structured German language classes provide the foundation needed to grasp these nuances effectively. Whether you're looking for a comprehensive German curriculum that covers all cases or flexible online German classes, learning with a focus on practical use and a strong speaking focus makes a real difference. Discover why Sprachlingua is an excellent choice for your German learning journey. Ready to confidently use "How are you?" and "I'm sorry" in German? Contact us to learn more about our programs, including dedicated German language classes in Chennai.
"Wie geht es?" - Asking How Someone Is
In English, we say "How are you?". The subject is "you". German approaches this differently.
The basic, general question is: Wie geht es?
(How's it going? / How are things?)
To ask a specific person how they are, you need that person's dative pronoun:
- Wie geht es
dir
? (How are you? - informal, singular) - Wie geht es
ihm
? (How is he?) - Wie geht es
ihr
? (How is she?) - Wie geht es
uns
? (How are we?) - Wie geht es
euch
? (How are you? - informal, plural) - Wie geht es
ihnen
? (How are they?) - Wie geht es
Ihnen
? (How are you? - formal, singular/plural)
The Grammar Twist: In these German sentences, the person isn't the subject. The impersonal pronoun es
(it) is the subject! The verb is gehen
(here meaning "to go" in the sense of "how things are faring"). The person whose well-being is being asked about is in the Dative case (answering the question "To whom is it going well/badly?").
A very literal translation of "Wie geht es dir?" would be something like "How does it go to you?". This sounds strange in English but shows the German structure.
Answering "Wie geht es...?"
The answer follows the same grammatical pattern:
- Danke,
mir
geht es gut. (Thanks, I am fine.) -> Subject:es
, Dative object:mir
(to me) Ihm
geht es nicht so gut. (He is not doing so well.) -> Dative object:ihm
(to him)Uns
geht es super! (We are doing great!) -> Dative object:uns
(to us)- Es geht. / Es geht so. (So-so. / Okay.) - A neutral answer, often without the dative pronoun.
In spoken German, this is often shortened: Mir geht's gut.
(instead of Mir geht es gut.
).
Asking Yes/No Questions
To ask *if* someone is doing well, put the verb first:
Geht es dir
gut? (Are you okay?)Geht es ihm
besser? (Is he feeling better?)Geht es Ihnen
gut? (Are you okay? - formal)
"Es tut mir leid." - Expressing Regret
We see the exact same grammatical structure here as with "Wie geht es?". In English, we say "I am sorry". The subject is "I". In German, once again, es
is the subject.
The standard phrase is: Es tut mir leid.
The verb here is leidtun
(or written separately: leid tun
). It means "to be sorry" or, more literally, "to cause sorrow/regret". The person feeling the regret is again in the Dative case.
The Grammar Twist: Es
(it) is the subject, tut leid
is the predicate (from the verb leidtun), and mir
(to me) is the dative object (To whom does it cause sorrow?).
A very literal translation of "Es tut mir leid." is something like "It does sorrow to me.".
Variations and Questions
Naturally, you can also ask if someone else is sorry, or why:
Tut es dir
leid? (Are you sorry?)Tut es ihm
wirklich leid? (Is he really sorry?)Tut es Ihnen
leid, was passiert ist? (Are you sorry for what happened? - formal)- Warum
tut es ihr
leid? (Why is she sorry?) - Wem
tut es
leid? -Mir
tut es leid. (Who is sorry? - I am sorry.)
Quick Reference: Dative Pronouns in Action
Here’s a summary table showing the dative pronouns used in these phrases:
Person (Nominative / Dative) | Example with "gehen" | Example with "leidtun" |
---|---|---|
ich / mir (I / to me) | Wie geht es mir ? / Mir geht es gut. |
Mir tut es leid. |
du / dir (you / to you - inf.) | Wie geht es dir ? / Geht es dir gut? |
Tut es dir leid? |
er / ihm (he / to him) | Wie geht es ihm ? / Ihm geht es schlecht. |
Tut es ihm leid? |
es / ihm (it / to it) | Wie geht es ihm (dem Tier)? / Ihm geht es gut. |
(Less common for 'it' to be sorry) |
sie / ihr (she / to her) | Wie geht es ihr ? / Geht es ihr besser? |
Warum tut es ihr leid? |
wir / uns (we / to us) | Wie geht es uns ? / Uns geht es prima. |
Uns tut es leid, das zu hören. |
ihr / euch (you / to you - inf. pl.) | Wie geht es euch ? / Geht es euch gut? |
Tut es euch leid? |
sie / ihnen (they / to them) | Wie geht es ihnen ? / Ihnen geht es gut. |
Tut es ihnen leid? |
Sie / Ihnen (You / to You - formal) | Wie geht es Ihnen ? / Geht es Ihnen gut? |
Tut es Ihnen leid? |
Note: The dative pronoun for "they" is ihnen
(lowercase), while the dative pronoun for the formal "You" is Ihnen
(uppercase). They look similar but context and capitalization distinguish them.
Why Does German Use This Structure?
This "impersonal" construction using es
as the subject and the person as a dative object is common in German for verbs or expressions describing a state, feeling, or perception that 'happens to' a person or is experienced by them, rather than an action the person actively performs.
Other common examples include: Mir ist kalt/warm.
(I am cold/warm - literally "To me is cold/warm."), Mir ist schlecht.
(I feel sick - "To me is bad."), Mir gefällt das.
(I like that - "It pleases me.").
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Take our ‘Greetings’ quizConclusion: Getting a Feel for the Dative
Even though the grammar behind "Wie geht es dir?" and "Es tut mir leid." differs significantly from English, these are absolutely fundamental German phrases. The key takeaway is understanding the structure: Es
+ Verb + Dative Pronoun (+ Adverb/Rest).
Memorize the dative pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr, uns, euch, ihnen, Ihnen
) and practice using them in these contexts. With a little practice, this structure will start to feel much more natural!
Want to learn more about the dative case and other essential German grammar topics? Check out Sprachlingua's online German courses – we help you speak German confidently and correctly.
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