B1 · The four cases
How German usually avoids the genitive
das Auto von meinem Bruder
Spoken German replaces the genitive with von plus dative, and writing does not.
The genitive is alive in written German and receding in spoken German. Where a text writes das Auto meines Bruders, a conversation says das Auto von meinem Bruder — von plus the dative, doing the same job with no genitive in sight.
This is not sloppiness that will be corrected out of you. Both forms are standard; they belong to different registers. A learner needs to produce the von form to sound natural in speech and to recognise the genitive instantly when reading, because newspapers, contracts and instructions use it constantly.
There is a third form, southern and colloquial and not accepted in writing: meinem Bruder sein Auto. It is worth recognising and not worth using, and its existence is a good reminder that the genitive has been under pressure for centuries.
Die Form
| written | das Auto meines Bruders |
| spoken | das Auto von meinem Bruder |
| names | Annas Auto, Peters Fahrrad |
| after most prepositions | wegen des Wetters / wegen dem Wetter |
| dialect, not written | meinem Bruder sein Auto |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
von plus dative replaces the genitive in speech.
die Mutter von meiner Freundinmy friend’s mother
A name takes -s in both registers, with no apostrophe.
Peters FahrradPeter’s bicycle
von is obligatory when the noun has no article.
der Preis von Gemüsethe price of vegetables
The genitive stays in writing and in fixed expressions.
eines Tagesone day
Genauer hingesehen
Where the genitive is not going anywhere
Four places keep the genitive firmly. Fixed expressions: eines Tages, meines Erachtens, schweren Herzens. Titles and headings, where it is shorter: Die Geschichte des Films. Formal and legal writing throughout. And a handful of verbs and adjectives that govern it: sich einer Sache bewusst sein.
The prepositions are the interesting middle ground. Wegen, trotz, während, statt are genitive prepositions in writing and take the dative in speech constantly. Reference works now accept the dative for most of them in informal use, which is a rare case of the rule following the speakers.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
the noun stands without an article
the genitive is impossible and von is required.
der Import von Ölthe import of oil
The genitive ending sits on the article, so with no article there is nothing to mark.
-
two genitives would follow each other
the second is usually replaced by von.
der Titel des Buches von meinem Kollegenthe title of my colleague’s book
Stacked genitives are correct and read badly.
Woran man es erkennt
- von
- des
- der
- wessen
- -s
Beispielsätze
Das ist das Haus von meinen Eltern.That is my parents’ house.
Der Titel des Buches ist lang.The title of the book is long.
Wessen Jacke ist das?Whose jacket is this?
Ein Freund von mir wohnt dort.A friend of mine lives there.
Die Farbe von dem Auto gefällt mir.I like the colour of the car.
Noch 6 Beispielsätze
Der Anfang von dem Film war langweilig.The beginning of the film was boring.
Das Ende des Jahres naht.The end of the year is approaching.
Ein Kollege von mir hat angerufen.A colleague of mine called.
Wegen des Streiks fällt der Zug aus.The train is cancelled because of the strike.
Wessen Idee war das?Whose idea was that?
Die Hälfte von dem Kuchen ist weg.Half the cake is gone.
Besonderheiten (2)
-
A famous book title says it best
A widely read German book on language usage is called <z>Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod</z> — itself written in the dialect form it is joking about. The title is a good mnemonic for the whole topic: the dative really is displacing the genitive, and the displacement has been going on long enough to be a joke.
-
The genitive -s and the plural -s look alike
<z>Annas</z> is a genitive, <z>Autos</z> is a plural, and neither takes an apostrophe. Writing "Anna’s Blumen" is a common German mistake with an English source; it is wrong in German and is noticed.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
Von is a dative preposition, so whatever follows it must be in the dative. Swapping the genitive for von does not remove the case problem, it moves it: instead of meines Bruders the sentence now needs meinem Bruder. This is the usual way the escape route goes wrong, and it is more noticeable than the genitive would have been.
von always takes the dative, in speech as in writing.
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