Genitive Case
Genitive Case
The genitive shows possession or a close 'of' relationship between two nouns — English does something similar with 's or 'of the', but German marks both the article and, often, the noun itself.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Genitive articles: des, der, des, der
das Auto des Mannes (the man's car)
the man's car
Genitive articles are: masculine der → des, feminine die → der, neuter das → des, plural die → der. English marks possession with 's (the man's car) or 'of' (the car of the man); German instead changes the article in front of the possessor noun and, for masculine/neuter nouns, adds an ending to the noun itself. Word order is also a trap: German puts the possessor after the thing possessed (das Auto des Mannes = 'the car of-the man'), the reverse of English's 'the man's car'.
Masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es
die Farbe des Autos (the car's color)
the car's color
Unlike English, where the noun itself never changes for possession, German masculine and neuter nouns in the genitive singular add an ending. Multisyllabic nouns usually add just -s (des Autos, des Lehrers); one-syllable nouns and nouns ending in -s, -ß, -x, -z typically add -es (des Mannes, des Hauses, des Kindes). Feminine and plural nouns take no extra ending on the noun itself — only the article changes (der Frau, der Kinder).
Spoken German often avoids the genitive with von
das Auto von dem Mann (spoken) / das Auto des Mannes (written)
the man's car
Colloquial spoken German often replaces the genitive with von + dative, much like English can say 'the car of the man' or 'the man's car' interchangeably: das Auto von dem Mann (informally often das Auto vom Mann) sounds natural in conversation, while das Auto des Mannes belongs to formal or written registers. Proper names behave differently: they simply add -s with no article, just like English's -'s — Peters Auto ('Peter's car'), Annas Buch ('Anna's book').
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| das Auto des Mannes | dahs OW-toh des MAHN-es | the man's car |
| die Tasche der Frau | dee TAH-sheh dair frow | the woman's bag |
| der Anfang des Jahres | dair AHN-fahng des YAH-res | the beginning of the year |
| das Ende der Woche | dahs EN-deh dair VOKH-eh | the end of the week |
| die Meinung der Leute | dee MY-noong dair LOY-teh | the opinion of the people |
| der Name des Kindes | dair NAH-meh des KIN-des | the child's name |
| wessen | VES-en | whose |
| Peters Auto | PAY-ters OW-toh | Peter's car |
| die Farbe des Himmels | dee FAR-beh des HIM-els | the color of the sky |
| das Haus meiner Eltern | dahs house MY-ner EL-tern | my parents' house |
| der Titel des Buches | dair TEE-tel des BOOKH-es | the title of the book |