Possessive Pronouns (Possessivpronomen) in German

Possessive pronouns (Possessivpronomen) are a familiar topic when learning any foreign language. However, some German learners still encounter difficulties when using these pronouns. In today's article, we will explore possessive pronouns in German together.

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- Possessive pronouns are pronouns used to express possession. For example:

Ist das dein Koffer? (Is that your suitcase?) – Ja, das ist meiner! (Yes, that is mine!)

Wem gehört die Katze? (Who does the cat belong to?) – Das ist meine! (That is mine.)

- The difference between possessive pronouns and possessive articles (Possessivartikel):

„Wem gehört der Ball?" – „Das ist mein Ball."

⇒ Possessivartikel, because there is a noun following it.

„Wem gehört der Ball?" – „Das ist meiner."

⇒ Possessivpronomen, because there is no noun following it.

→ Possessive pronouns are used to replace a noun that has already been mentioned, therefore no noun follows the possessive pronoun.

- Formation:

Possessive pronoun for ich: mein-

meinem

meiner

meinen

Genitiv

meines

meines

meiner

meiner

→The endings of possessive pronouns are declined similarly to the endings of definite articles. Therefore, we only need to decline in the same way for the remaining persons:

• Possessive pronoun for du: dein-

• Possessive pronoun for er: sein-

• Possessive pronoun for sie: ihr-

• Possessive pronoun for es: sein-

• Possessive pronoun for wir: unser-

• Possessive pronoun for ihr: euer-

• Possessive pronoun for sie (Pl.): ihr-

• Possessive pronoun for Sie: Ihr-