Tag Archives: genitive
The German Genitive Case Ending Explained Posted by Sten on Apr 8, 2021
For all the German learners out there, I probably don’t need to say this. Grammar in German is a pain. In the jungle of articles, conjugations and cases, it can be daunting to get it all right. We’ve written about the Genitiv (Genitive) jungle before. And today, I want to focus on a small patch in that…
The Genitive Case: Possessive Adjectives Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 15, 2012
In German, there are eight adjectives that show possession: mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, and ihr. Possessive adjectives agree in number, gender and case with the noun (the thing being possessed) they are describing. Today, we have a closer look at the genitive case declension of these possessive adjectives. In order to decline…
The Genitive Case: Showing Possession, part 2 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 13, 2012
In my last post I gave you some sentences to practice your new acquired knowledge about the German genitive case. So, before I start a new discussion, here is the key. 1. A: Wessen Handy ist das? (Whose cellphone is that?) B: (Doreen) Das ist Doreens Handy. (That is Doreen’s cellphone.) 2. A…
The Genitive Case: Showing Possession, part 1 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 11, 2012
Most learners of German seem to fall into despair when it comes to the language’s grammar cases. And when I read explanations in grammar books how to construct a German sentence with the correct cases, I can understand your discontent. The problem with grammar and its explanations is that they are just condensed information about…
Prepositions that require the genitive case Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 11, 2010
In my previous post, I explained to you the basic idea of the four German grammar cases. Remember: DOER-noun = nominative (carries out the action) POSSESSION-noun = genitive (belongs to DOER, INSTRUMENT or TARGET) INSTRUMENT-noun = dative (with what the action is carried out) TARGET-noun = accusative (receives the action) Unfortunately, the German language is…
WHO is doing that to WHOM with WHAT and WHOSE is it at all? – The four German cases Posted by Sandra Rösner on Aug 6, 2010
Most learners of German seem to struggle with the language’s grammar cases. In this post I am going to explain why these cases exist and what they mean. The crucial element of every sentence is the verb, since it names a particular action. In this action, there are always specific subjects and objects (nouns) involved…