German Language Blog
Menu
Search

Tag Archives: genitive

The German Genitive Case Ending Explained Posted by 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…

Continue Reading

The Genitive Case: Possessive Adjectives Posted by 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…

Continue Reading

The Genitive Case: Showing Possession, part 2 Posted by 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…

Continue Reading

The Genitive Case: Showing Possession, part 1 Posted by 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…

Continue Reading

Prepositions that require the genitive case Posted by 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…

Continue Reading

WHO is doing that to WHOM with WHAT and WHOSE is it at all? – The four German cases Posted by 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…

Continue Reading