Demonstratives: dieser and der as pronouns

In brief

Use dieser or der to point to a particular person or thing without repeating its noun: Dieser ist neu means ‘This one is new.’ Both can mean ‘this one’ or ‘that one’; context and words such as hier or da make the distance clear. Unlike a demonstrative before a noun, the pronoun stands on its own.

Form

Match the omitted noun’s gender and number, and the pronoun’s case: nominative dieser/diese/dieses or der/die/das; accusative diesen/diese/dieses or den/die/das; dative diesem/dieser/diesem or dem/der/dem. Plural: diese or die (nominative and accusative).

Usage

• Use dieser to single out one option when comparing several.
• Use der, die or das as a standalone pointer to something already known or visible.
• Add hier or da to distinguish ‘this one’ from ‘that one’ in conversation.

Examples

• Welchen Mantel möchtest du? – Diesen hier. — Which coat would you like? – This one here.
• Welcher Schlüssel passt? – Der da. — Which key fits? – That one there.
• Die rote Tasche ist schön, aber die da ist günstiger. — The red bag is nice, but that one over there is cheaper.
• Ich nehme das Glas da. Dieses hier ist schmutzig. — I’ll take that glass over there. This one here is dirty.

Common mistake

❌ Ich nehme dieser.

✅ Ich nehme diesen.

When referring to a masculine noun such as Mantel, nehmen requires the accusative form diesen, not nominative dieser.

Remember

A demonstrative pronoun replaces a noun, but still agrees with that noun’s gender and takes the case required by its role in the sentence.