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Genitive
The last German case you are going to learn
Genitive is the 2nd case but most likely the one you learn last. The articles get conjugated the following way (m, f, n, pl):
definite: des – [e]s, der, des – [e]s, der
indefinite: eines – [e]s, einer, eines – [e]s, –
Check out the video on the right so learn more about this -s and -es endings and to do some exercises.
Das ist das Buch der Lehrerin.
The thing possessed comes before the owner. You can see that “der Lehrerin” looks like dative, but it is not! Take a male teacher and you will see it.
Das ist das Buch des Lehrers. (NOT dem Lehrer)
How do we ask for genitive?
Every case has specific question words.
Nominative: wer/was?
Dative: wem/was?
Accusative: wen/was?
For genitive it is “wessen?”, it does not have “was?” like the other cases. Example:
Wessen Kaffee ist das? Whose coffee is that.
Das ist der Kaffee des Chefs. That is the boss’s coffee.
Von wem ist der Kaffee? That is also an option. We could answer either
in genitiv: Das ist der Kaffee des Chefs.
or in dative: Das ist der Kaffee von dem Chef.
Other usages
Despite marking possession we use genitive also for assigning B to A.
This applies for patterns, colors, forms, material and more (in the video >>)
Die Farbe der Hose ist zu dunkel. The color of the pants is too dark.
Possessive articles in genitive
You will find a nice table in the video. Short summary:
(ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie)
male: meines, deines, seines, ihres, seines, unseres, eures, ihres
female: meiner, deiner, seiner, ihrer, seiner, unserer, eurer, ihrer
neutral: meines, deines, seines, ihres, seines, unseres, eures, ihres
plural: meiner, deiner, seiner, ihrer, seiner, unserer, eurer, ihrer
Die Schwester meiner Mutter…
Der Hund unseres Heims…
Die Regeln unseres Vereins…
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Anna Ambatielou, Dresden
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