In speech, unstressed pronouns get shorter and stick to the verb or conjunction. In writing, some people keep them apart (Er hät si gseh), others join them (Er hätsi gseh): both are read the same.
| full form | short |
|---|---|
| ich | i |
| mir (Dativ) | mer |
| dir | der |
| ihn | en |
| sie | si |
| es | s |
| wir | mer |
| Schweizerdeutsch | Hochdeutsch |
|---|---|
| häsch (du) | hast du |
| hätter | hat er |
| hätsi | hat sie |
| hämmer | haben wir |
| simmer | sind wir |
| gömmer | gehen wir |
| chömmer | können wir |
| ischs | ist es |
With du, the pronoun is often dropped: the ending -sch is enough (Chunsch? Häsch Ziit?).
The linking n: between two vowels an n slips in: wo n i (wo ich), wie n er (wie er), so n e Sach (so eine Sache). That is why you read « de Maa, wo n i kenne ».
The polite form is Si (Sie): Chönd Si mer hälfe? In Bern you also hear Dir.
Hämmer no Brot?
Do we still have bread?
Er hätsi geschter gseh.
He saw her yesterday.
Gömmer go ässe?
Shall we go and eat?
Translate the words from your reading, review them as flashcards and practise with gap-fill sentences.
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