TOPIC · Prepositions (Präpositionen)
Preposition guide 5 — Prepositions + Genitiv
wegen, trotz, während, innerhalb, außerhalb, (an)statt, aufgrund — and why seit/bei DO NOT belong to this group.
Genitiv
Genitiv expresses possession, origin, cause, time, scope — less common than Akkusativ and Dativ, but very important in writing.
1Common features
Prepositions + Genitiv are often used to express cause, reason, time, scope, opposition.
- Rarely used in daily conversation.
- Appears frequently in writing, books, formal style.
- No specific questions like Akkusativ or Dativ.
Quick memory aid
Learn these four core words first: „trotz – während – wegen – (an)statt". Add the scope pair „innerhalb – außerhalb" for B1.
Nouns of masculine and neuter gender take the ending -s/-es in the Genitiv: des Wetters, des Regens, des Mannes.
2Common prepositions + Genitiv
| Preposition | Meaning | Usage | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| wegen | because of, due to | cause | wegen des Wetters (because of the weather) |
| trotz | although | opposite | trotz des Regens (despite the rain) |
| während | while, during | time | während des Urlaubs (during the vacation) |
| (an)statt | instead of | replacement | anstatt des Autos (instead of the car) |
| innerhalb | inside, within | scope | innerhalb eines Jahres (within a year) |
| außerhalb | outside | scope | außerhalb der Stadt (outside the city) |
| aufgrund | due to, based on | cause | aufgrund der Situation (due to the situation) |
Fix a very common mistake in summary tables
Many „preposition + Genitiv" tables online mistakenly list seit and bei in this group. Wrong. Both belong to the Dativ group (see Part 4):
· ✗ seit + Genitiv → ✓ seit dem Morgen, seit zwei Jahren (Dativ) · ✗ bei + Genitiv → ✓ bei meinem Freund (Dativ)
Immediate clue: their examples always have dem / der / meinem — that's a Dativ article, not Genitiv (des / der / eines).
3Typical example sentence
- Ich komme wegen des Regens nicht. (I’m not coming because of the rain.)
- Trotz des kalten Wetters we go for a walk. (Although the weather is cold, we still go for a walk)
- Während der Ferien I travel. (During the holidays, I travel)
- Außerhalb der Stadt there is a beautiful lake. (Outside the city, there is a beautiful lake)
- We must reply innerhalb einer Woche. (We must reply within a week)
4Some common phrases
- wegen des Problems (because of the problem)
- trotz der Schwierigkeiten (despite the difficulties)
- während des Studiums (during university studies)
- innerhalb kurzer Zeit (within a short time)
- außerhalb der Arbeitszeit (outside working hours)
- anstatt eines Briefes (instead of a letter)
- aufgrund der Ergebnisse (based on the results)
In everyday speech
Germans often replace Genitiv with von + Dativ in speech: wegen dem Wetter (instead of wegen des Wetters). This is common in spoken language, but in exams and writing, you must use Genitiv.
5Quick comparison
| Akkusativ | Genitiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Question | where to go? | because of what? |
| Example | nach Deutschland | wegen Deutschlands |
| Meaning | to Germany | because of Germany |
Do not use Genitiv after
nach, zu, in, auf, mit, bei, seit, von — all are Dativ or Wechselpräposition, never Genitiv.
Weniger ist mehr — Learn less but solidly
Genitiv is not hard, just remember the phrases and the -s suffix.
Knowledge test
Preposition guide 5 — Prepositions + Genitiv
- 1.
___ des Regens bleibe ich zu Hause.
- 2.
Trotz ___ Wetters gehen wir spazieren.
- 3.
Während ___ Ferien reise ich.
- 4.
Which preposition does NOT go with Genitiv?
- 5.
Wir müssen innerhalb ___ Jahres antworten.
- 6.
In spoken language, what do Germans often say instead of „wegen des Wetters"?