Possessive Articles
Possessive Articles
German picks a possessive by who owns the thing, just like English 'his' or 'her' — but then adds a second layer, making that possessive agree with the gender, case, and number of the thing owned.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Possessives match the owner — just like English
sein Buch (his book) vs. ihr Buch (her book) — sein/ihr changes to match the OWNER's gender
his book vs. her book
This part actually matches English: German picks mein/dein/sein/ihr/unser/euer/ihr based on who owns the thing (just like English his/her/their), not what's owned. The twist is what happens next: like ein and kein, possessives then take endings that agree with the gender, case, and number of the THING owned — sein Buch (neuter, no ending) but seine Tasche (feminine, -e ending) — a second layer of agreement English doesn't have at all.
The full possessive set
mein, dein, sein, ihr, sein, unser, euer, ihr/Ihr
my, your, his, her, its, our, your (plural), their/your (formal)
mein (my), dein (your, informal singular), sein (his/its), ihr (her/its), sein (its, for das-nouns), unser (our), euer (your, informal plural), ihr (their), Ihr (your, formal) — these decline exactly like ein/kein: no ending in the masculine/neuter nominative singular, -e in the feminine and plural, -en in most other cases.
euer loses its middle -e- when it takes an ending
euer Haus (your house) but eure Mutter (your mother) — not eueere
your house / your mother
euer is the one irregular case: when an ending is added, the -e- before the -r drops out (euer → eure, not euere), purely for pronunciation. English 'your' never changes shape at all, so this quirk has no parallel — just memorize it.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| mein Buch | myn bookh | my book |
| deine Tasche | DY-neh TAH-sheh | your bag (informal) |
| sein Auto | zyn OW-toh | his car |
| ihr Haus | eer hows | her house |
| unser Garten | OON-zer GAR-ten | our garden |
| euer Hund | OY-er hoont | your dog (informal plural) |
| ihre Kinder | EE-reh KIN-der | their children |
| Ihr Name | eer NAH-meh | your name (formal) |
| meine Eltern | MY-neh EL-tern | my parents |