Answers
Nov 25, 2015 - 01:50 PM
I'm not a German student, so I could be wrong about this. But don't "der", "die", and "das" mean "the" and not "it"?
Nov 25, 2015 - 02:52 PM
I think that der die and das usually mean "the" but can be used as "it" when it is a replacement for a specific noun. "er" means "he", "sie" means formal "you" or she and "es" means "it" when it isn't replacing a known noun. Both "Google Translate" and "Linguee" is helpful for clarifying possible translations and context. http://www.linguee.com/german-english...
Dec 24, 2015 - 03:21 PM
Der die and das are the accusative
ns case articles and represent it
the noun being replaced is the direct object
ns case articles and represent it
the noun being replaced is the direct object
Dec 25, 2015 - 07:45 AM
Okay, so the real answer is that both can be used, when in Germany or speaking to a German, use the "er,sie,es" form because that is way more common. Eventually Fluenz does have a lesson regarding using the "er,sie,es" form (somewhere in level 5). Remember to use the proper case though, that means when saying "it" for a masculine noun in the accusative case, don't say "der" or "er" but rather "den" or "ihn".