Possession with Genitiv in German

In German, the case Genitiv is mainly used to express possession or belonging. In this lesson you learn the most frequent Genitiv forms and structures.

1The question „Wessen?“ – basic function of Genitiv

The Genitiv answers the question „Wessen?“ (whose?): it shows who owns something or who something belongs to.

• Wessen Buch ist das? – Das ist das Buch meiner Schwester. (That is my sister’s book.)
• Wessen Auto steht da? – Das ist das Auto des Nachbarn. (That is the neighbour’s car.)

The noun that shows possession stands in Genitiv directly after the possessed noun, usually without any preposition.

2Genitiv of the definite articles

Masculine and neuter

In the singular, maskulin and neutrum nouns take des in the Genitiv. The noun usually gets the ending -s or -es.

• Das Spiel des Kindes dauert lange. (The child’s game lasts a long time.)
• Die Farbe des Autos ist schön. (The colour of the car is beautiful.)

Rule of thumb: short, one-syllable nouns often take -es (des Hundes, des Tages), longer ones usually -s (des Autos, des Computers).

Feminine and plural

In the singular, feminin nouns take der in the Genitiv; all plural forms take der.

• Die Tasche der Frau ist neu. (The woman’s bag is new.)
• Die Spielsachen der Kinder liegen überall. (The children’s toys are lying everywhere.)

3Genitiv with indefinite and possessive articles

The same patterns apply to ein, kein and the possessive articles (mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr).

Examples:

• Ben sucht das Auto seines Vaters. (Ben is looking for his father’s car.)
• Wir benötigen die Werkzeuge deines Bruders. (We need your brother’s tools.)
• Die Qualität des Lebens ist wichtig. (The quality of life is important.)
• Das Design der Website gefällt mir. (I like the design of the website.)
• Die Meinung der Lehrer ist relevant. (The opinion of the teachers is relevant.)

4Genitiv with names

With names in Genitiv, German normally adds -s, often only in writing and in somewhat formal style.

• Common in modern German: die Wohnung von Maria, das Büro von Herrn Müller (the flat of Maria, the office of Mr Müller).

In everyday language, Genitiv with names is frequently replaced by von + Dativ.

5Genitiv vs. „von + Dativ“

In spoken German, von + Dativ is very common instead of Genitiv:

• das Auto des Lehrers → das Auto von dem Lehrer (the teacher’s car)
• die Meinung der Studenten → die Meinung von den Studenten (the opinion of the students)

In written and formal German, Genitiv is preferred, especially in texts and exams. You should be able to understand both variants and actively use the Genitiv.

summaryEn: After this lesson you can form Genitiv structures to express possession and understand the main article and pronoun patterns.