The genitive: des Mannes, der Frau, Annas Auto
Show who something belongs to with the genitive, with a name + s, or with von + dative in speech.
Part of the free A2 German course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.
English shows possession with 's or of: my father's car, the colour of the house. German has a fourth case for this, the genitive. In everyday speech many Germans replace it with von + dative, but you will meet the genitive in writing, on signs and in polite speech, so you need to recognise and use it.
The forms
The possessor comes after the thing it owns: das Auto des Mannes (the car of the man).
| masculine | feminine | neuter | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the | des Vaters | der Mutter | des Kindes | der Eltern |
| a | eines Vaters | einer Mutter | eines Kindes | (none) |
| my | meines Vaters | meiner Mutter | meines Kindes | meiner Eltern |
- Masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es. Short words of one syllable usually take -es (des Mannes, des Kindes, des Hauses); longer ones take -s (des Vaters, des Lehrers, des Hotels).
- Feminine and plural nouns add nothing: only the article changes to der.
- Das ist das Auto meines Vaters.That's my father's car.
- Die Farbe des Hauses gefällt mir.I like the colour of the house.
- Die Zimmer der Kinder sind oben.The children's rooms are upstairs.
- Am Ende des Films haben alle geweint.At the end of the film everyone cried.
Names: Annas Auto
With a name, add -s with no apostrophe and put it before the noun, with no article: Annas Auto, Pauls Schwester, Deutschlands Hauptstadt. If the name already ends in an s-sound, write an apostrophe instead: Jonas' Wohnung, Max' Fahrrad.
- Annas Bruder wohnt in Köln.Anna's brother lives in Cologne.
Wessen? and von + dative
The question word is wessen? (whose?). In conversation, most people use von + dative instead of the genitive: das Auto von meinem Vater. Both are correct; the genitive sounds more written.
- Wessen Tasche ist das?Whose bag is that?
- Das ist das Fahrrad von meiner Schwester.That's my sister's bike.
Masculine weak nouns like der Student take -en, not -s: des Studenten. And der Name becomes des Namens. See Masculine weak nouns: der Student, den Studenten.
Common mistakes
Annas' AutoorAnna's Auto: standard spelling is Annas Auto, with no apostrophe. The apostrophe is only for names ending in an s-sound (Jonas').das Auto des Vater: masculine and neuter nouns need the -s: des Vaters.das Buch der Lehrerins: feminine nouns never add -s: der Lehrerin.das Auto von mein Bruder: von takes the dative, von meinem Bruder.der Vaters Auto: with an article, the possessor goes after: das Auto des Vaters.
Practice
- Das ist die Wohnung _____ Freundin.Options: meiner · meines · meine · meinem
Show the answer
meiner — Feminine genitive: meiner Freundin.
- Die Spielsachen _____ Kinder liegen überall.Options: der · des · den · die
Show the answer
der — Plural genitive: der Kinder.
- Wie ist der Name des _____ (Hotel)?
Show the answer
Hotels — Neuter, more than one syllable: -s.
- Die Tür des _____ (Haus) ist rot.
Show the answer
Hauses — One-syllable neuter noun: -es.