{"id":93517,"date":"2023-06-06T22:27:05","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T02:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/german-genitive\/"},"modified":"2025-01-29T04:32:43","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T09:32:43","slug":"german-genitive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-genitive\/","title":{"rendered":"The Genitive Case in German"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s highly possible that in the course of your German studies, you haven’t yet learned the possessive case, also known as der Genitiv.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thankfully, Genitiv<\/em> is fairly easy and a lot less common than Nominativ<\/em>, Akkusativ<\/em> and Dativ<\/em><\/a>. Read through our guide to all things Genitiv<\/em>, and you’ll be able to use this case in no time.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc skip=4]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Things to Know About the German Genitive<\/h2>\n

This section will act as your guide to the Genitiv<\/em> case. When you practice the five uses of the Genitiv<\/em> case, refer back to this section to remember the proper grammatical points.<\/p>\n

The genitive pronouns<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Gender<\/th>Genitive Pronouns<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Masculine<\/td> des <\/a>\n <\/em> (definite), eines <\/a>\n <\/em> (indefinite)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Feminine<\/td> der <\/a>\n <\/em>, einer <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neutral<\/td> des <\/a>\n <\/em>, eines <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

The genitive adjective endings<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Good news! The genitive adjective endings are almost exactly the same as the dative adjective endings. Almost all adjectives in the genitive case end in -en<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The only exceptions are when there is no article preceding the noun. Articles are words like “the”, “this”, “no” or “a”. Where no article is to be found,\u00a0 adjectives before feminine <\/strong>or plural <\/strong>nouns take the ending -er.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The vast majority of cases for this are for phrases indicating the quantity of something. Let’s look at an example with the singular feminine noun Kleidung\u00a0<\/em>(clothing):<\/p>\n

Der\u00a0Gro\u00dfteil gebrauchter<\/span> Kleidung<\/strong> landet auf Deponien. <\/em> (The majority\u00a0of used clothing\u00a0<\/strong>ends up in landfill.)<\/p>\n

And now with the plural noun\u00a0Produkte\u00a0<\/em>(products):<\/p>\n

Wir bieten eine gro\u00dfe Auswahl leckerer<\/span> Produkte<\/strong>. <\/em> (We offer a range\u00a0of tasty products.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

So apart from those two cases, it’s always -en<\/em>! We told you this case was fairly easy!<\/p>\n

The genitive noun endings<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Okay, this news is slightly less good. In the genitive case, you have to change nouns as well as adjectives. But don’t panic! Only neuter and masculine nouns change their forms in genitive, and almost all of them simply take an -s<\/em> <\/strong>or an -es<\/em> <\/strong>for the ending.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shorter, singular syllable nouns tend to take the longer –es\u00a0<\/em>ending, whereas longer words with more syllables usually just gain an\u00a0-s<\/em> on the end:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Der Mann<\/em> (the man) \u21d2 Des Mannes<\/em><\/p>\n

Der Wagen <\/em>(the car) \u21d2 Des Wagens<\/em><\/p>\n

Nouns known as “weak masculine nouns”<\/a> don’t take an\u00a0-s\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0-es\u00a0<\/em>ending, as these always end on\u00a0-en\u00a0<\/em>in all cases apart from the nominative:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Der Mensch <\/em>\u21d2 Des Menschen<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>(the people)<\/p>\n

There are luckily only two exceptions that have unique endings in the genitive:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Das Herz <\/em>(the heart) \u21d2 Des Herzen<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Der Name <\/em>(the name)\u21d2 Des Namens<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fact that the genitive case is falling out of use<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Remember when I said earlier that the genitive case isn’t as common as the other cases? Well, one of the reasons behind this rarity is that genitive is slowly but surely disappearing from the German language. It’s much less common to hear genitive now than it once was. When you do encounter\u00a0genitive, you’re much more likely to\u00a0read it instead of hear it.<\/p>\n

However, this case isn’t obsolete by any means, and so knowing how to identify and use this case is an essential part of your German language education.<\/p>\n

Uses of the German Genitive Case<\/h2>\n

Although genitive isn’t as common anymore, it’s still used in several different, important contexts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Uses of the Genitive Case<\/th>Examples<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Possession<\/td> Die Hunde der Nachbarn<\/strong> <\/a>\n <\/em> (The neighbor's dogs)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
With certain prepositions<\/td> Trotz des L\u00e4rms<\/strong> konnte ich gut schlafen. <\/a>\n <\/em> (Despite the noise, I could sleep well.)
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
With certain verbs<\/td> Er bedarf deines Rates<\/strong>. <\/a>\n <\/em> (He needs your advice.)
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Indefinite time<\/td> Eines Abends<\/strong> ging ich alleine spazieren. <\/a>\n <\/em> (One evening, I went for a walk alone.)
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Read on to become adept at using the genitive case every way it can be used!<\/p>\n

1. Possession<\/h3>\n

This is the most common and well-known use of the genitive\u2014to say to whom something belongs. For example:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Das Haus meiner Tante \u00a0<\/em>(Literally: “The house of my aunt” \/ My aunt’s house)\u00a0<\/p>\n

How do you use German genitive case to show possession?<\/h4>\n

To show possession with the German genitive case, start with the object that’s being possessed. Say it’s a gift, das Geschenk.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then figure out who’s doing the possessing. Say it’s your boyfriend you’re talking about, mein Freund\u00a0<\/em>(my boyfriend).<\/p>\n

So you would want to say the equivalent of “The gift of my boyfriend,” which is:<\/p>\n

Das Geschenk meines Freundes<\/strong>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Das Haar der Frau<\/strong>.<\/em> (Literally: “The hair of the woman” \/ The woman’s hair)<\/p>\n

Das Auto der Eltern meiner Freundin<\/strong>.<\/em> (Literally: “The car of the parents of my girlfriend” \/ My girlfriend’s parents’ car)<\/p>\n

Die Tasche seiner Mutter<\/strong>.<\/em> (Literally: “The bag of his mother” \/ His mother’s bag)<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> With names, the possessive in German can also be simply expressed with an s, <\/em><\/strong>the way it is in English, but beware: Don’t use an apostrophe the way you do in English! Some Germans have started using an apostrophe, but it’s considered poor form.<\/p>\n

So you would say Marias Auto<\/em> (Maria’s car), not<\/strong> Maria’s Auto.<\/em><\/p>\n

2. With certain prepositions<\/a><\/h3>\n

If you’ve figured out how to express possession using genitive, congratulations. You’ve already cracked the main function of this elusive case.<\/p>\n

However, don’t get too complacent. There are still a few more uses to learn. Next up, the prepositions that take genitive.<\/p>\n

How do you use the genitive case with certain prepositions?<\/h4>\n

There are a handful of prepositions that take this case. Here’s a list of the most common:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
German Preposition<\/th>Meaning<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
W\u00e4hrend <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>During<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Au\u00dferhalb <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Outside of<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aufgrund <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Because of<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trotz <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>In spite of<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wegen <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Because of<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Innerhalb <\/a>\n <\/em><\/td>Within<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

So how do you use these prepositions along with the genitive? The article and object following each preposition takes the genitive. Take a look at the examples below and you’ll quickly have a good idea of how to form these.<\/p>\n

Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n

W\u00e4hrend des Konzerts <\/strong>hat meine Mutter mich angerufen. <\/em> (During the concert, my mother called me).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aufgrund des Regens <\/strong>bleiben wir heute zu Hause.<\/em> (Because of the rain, we’re staying home today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trotz ihrer <\/strong>M\u00fcdigkeit<\/strong> hat sie bis Mitternacht gearbeitet.<\/em> (Despite her tiredness, she worked until midnight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To get more familiar with German prepositions as well as the genitive case, you can study how they’re used by native speakers in different situations on FluentU.<\/p>\n

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