UNIT FOURTEEN
THE GENITIVE CASE
WHAT IS THE GENITIVE CASE?
THE GENITIVE CASE IS USED TO INDICATE
POSSESSION OR OWNERSHIP:
DAS IST DIE TASCHE MEINES VATERS.
THAT IS MY FATHER’S BAG.
What’s different in German?
Usage in English and German is very similar. One main difference is
the word order. Whereas in English the genitive construction comes
first, in German it usually follows the noun it refers to. Look at the
following examples:
Das ist die Tasche meines Vaters. That is my father’s bag.
Das ist das Auto meiner Tante. That is my aunt’s car.
Das ist das Spielzeug meines Babys. That is my baby’s toy.
Das ist die Meinung der Gäste. That is the guests’ opinion.
Like the accusative and dative case, the genitive also affects the
endings of the modifier (for example the indefinite and definite articles)
Endings in the genitive case
Here is an overview of some of the most common endings in the
genitive case:
modifier masculine feminine neuter plural
Definite: des Mannes der Frau des Kindes der Gäste
Indefinite: eines Mannes einer Frau eines Kindes –
Possessive:meines Mannes meiner Frau meines Kindes meiner
Gäste
• As you can see, the ‘modifiers’ in the genitive end in -es for
masculine and neuter nouns and -er for feminine nouns and the
plural.
• Masculine and neuter nouns also add -es to most short nouns (der
Mann des Mannes) and usually -s to nouns with two syllables or
more (der Computer des Computers).
• Nouns in the feminine or the plural do not take an ending.
No apostrophe
When an s is added to masculine or neuter nouns, there is no
apostrophe in German. The same applies when you refer to a
person’s name:
Das ist Peters Buch. This is Peter’s book.
The genitive case after prepositions
There are also certain prepositions which take the genitive case. The
most common are:
trotz despite während during
wegen because (an)statt instead of
EXAMPLES:
Während seiner Zeit . . . During his time . . .
Trotz ihres hohen Alters . . . Despite her old age . . .
Spoken German
In spoken German the genitive is often regarded as too formal and
old- fashioned. A common way to replace it is to use von + dative:
Das ist das Auto meines Bruders. Das ist das Auto von meinem
Bruder
The genitive case – the main points
The genitive expresses a possessive relationship between two nouns.
The usage in English and German is very similar, but it is important to
remember that the endings for modifiers change:
• -es for masculine and neuter nouns and
• -er for feminine nouns and the plural.
Also do not forget to add -(e)s to neuter and masculine nouns
Exercise 14.1
Replace the genitive construction by using von + dative.
Example: Das ist die neue Freundin meines Vaters.
Das ist die neue Freundin von meinem Vater.
1. Das ist die Gitarre meines Bruders.
2. Das ist der Sportwagen meiner Frau.
3. Das ist das Spielzeug meines Kindes.
4. Das ist die Frau meines Chefs.
5. Da vorne steht die Freundin meines Sohnes.
6. Die Mutter meines Freundes ist Zahnärztin.
7. Der Manager meiner Bank ist nicht sehr freundlich.
8. Die Meinung meiner Freunde ist mir sehr wichtig.
Exercise 14.2
Fill in the missing endings for the modifiers in the genitive case and
make the correct changes to the noun, if applicable.
Examples:
Wie war der Name dein Freund ? Wie war der Name deines
Freundes?
Das ist das Auto mein Mutter . Das ist das Auto meiner Mutter.
1. Das ist das Zimmer mein Sohn .
2. Wie war der Name d Sängerin ?
3. Das Cover d Buch ist sehr attraktiv.
4. Der Vorname mein Yoga-Lehrer ist Karl-Günther.
5. Das Hobby mein Chefin ist Reisen.
6. Der Bildschirm mein neuen Computer ist sehr gut für die Augen.
7. Trotz d schlechten Wetter macht er einen Spaziergang.
8. Während ihr Mittagspause geht sie meistens ins Restaurant
Exercise 14.3
Translate the following sentences:
1. That is my brother’s book.
2. That is my sister’s car.
3. These are the friends of my child.
4. This is Paula’s bag.
5. It was Boris Becker’s mistake
Checklist
1. Which two factors determine the use of the genitive
case?
2. Do modifier endings change for all nouns in the
genitive case?
3. Can you name the endings for the most common
modifiers?
4. Are there also endings to the noun itself in the
genitive case?
