B1 · The four cases
The genitive
the possessive case
Written German uses it; spoken German mostly says von plus dative instead.
The genitive shows that one thing belongs to another: das Auto meines Bruders. Unlike English it goes after the noun it belongs to, not in front — "my brother's car" becomes "the car of my brother" in shape.
It is the only case where the masculine and neuter noun itself takes an ending: -s or -es. Des Mannes, des Kindes, des Autos. Feminine nouns and plurals take nothing at all and only the article changes.
In speech the genitive is largely replaced by von plus the dative: das Auto von meinem Bruder. That is not sloppy — it is what people say — but it is out of place in writing, where the genitive is expected. This is one of the clearest register splits in German, and worth knowing in both directions.
Die Form
| masculine | des Mannes / eines Mannes |
| feminine | der Frau / einer Frau |
| neuter | des Kindes / eines Kindes |
| plural | der Leute |
| spoken alternative | von meinem Bruder |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
The genitive follows the noun it belongs to.
der Hund des Nachbarnthe neighbour's dog
Masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es; feminine nouns and plurals add nothing.
des Tages, des Hauses, der Frauof the day, of the house, of the woman
A handful of prepositions take the genitive: wegen, während, trotz, statt, innerhalb, außerhalb.
Wegen des schlechten Wetters bleiben wir zu Hause.We are staying at home because of the bad weather.
A proper name takes -s with no apostrophe and goes in front.
Annas Fahrrad steht draußen.Anna's bicycle is outside.
Genauer hingesehen
A case on its way out, and how far it has got
The genitive has been retreating in German for centuries. It has already lost most of its ground in speech to von plus dative, and several of the prepositions that once required it now take the dative in ordinary usage — wegen dem Wetter is what people say, however firmly grammars object.
What is worth noticing is that it is not going quietly. It remains completely secure in writing, it is the expected form in anything official or academic, and using von throughout a written text reads as a lack of register rather than as a modern choice. For a learner that means both forms are needed, and knowing which room you are in is the actual skill.
Ausnahmen und Sonderfälle (2)
-
the noun is a weak masculine — Student, Kunde, Herr, Nachbar
the genitive is -n or -en, not -s.
das Auto des Nachbarnthe neighbour's car
These nouns take the same -n in every case except the nominative singular.
-
the genitive would have no article to carry it
German uses von instead, even in writing.
der Preis von Goldthe price of gold
With nothing to mark the case, the genitive would be invisible — der Preis von Gold, not der Preis Goldes.
Woran man es erkennt
- des
- der
- eines
- einer
- wegen
- während
- trotz
- statt
Beispielsätze
Das ist das Haus meiner Eltern.That is my parents' house.
Während der Woche arbeite ich.I work during the week.
Trotz des Regens sind wir gelaufen.We walked in spite of the rain.
Der Anfang des Films war langweilig.The beginning of the film was boring.
Innerhalb einer Woche bekommen Sie Bescheid.You will hear within a week.
Noch 8 Beispielsätze
Der Titel des Buches fällt mir nicht ein.I cannot remember the title of the book.
Am Ende des Monats ist das Geld weg.The money is gone at the end of the month.
Statt eines Briefes hat er angerufen.Instead of a letter he telephoned.
Die Farbe des Autos gefällt mir nicht.I do not like the colour of the car.
Außerhalb der Öffnungszeiten ist niemand da.Nobody is there outside opening hours.
Das Ergebnis der Prüfung kommt nächste Woche.The result of the exam comes next week.
Die Mutter meines Freundes ist Ärztin.My friend's mother is a doctor.
Wegen eines Unfalls war die Straße gesperrt.The road was closed because of an accident.
Besonderheiten (2)
-
Only the genitive touches the noun itself
In the other three cases the noun is untouched and only the article moves. The genitive is the one place where a masculine or neuter noun changes shape: <z>der Mann</z> becomes <z>des Mannes</z>. Short nouns and those ending in <z>-s</z>, <z>-ß</z>, <z>-z</z> or <z>-x</z> take the fuller <z>-es</z>; longer ones usually take <z>-s</z>, and both are often possible.
des Hauses, des Lehrersof the house, of the teacher
-
The genitive prepositions are a short list
<z>Wegen, während, trotz, statt, innerhalb, außerhalb</z> and, in formal writing, <z>aufgrund</z>, <z>anlässlich</z> and <z>hinsichtlich</z>. They are worth learning as writing vocabulary rather than as speaking vocabulary, because that is where they belong.
während der Sitzung, trotz des Wettersduring the meeting, in spite of the weather
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
German writes the possessive -s on a name with no apostrophe. The apostrophe is an English import, it is common on shop signs, and it is wrong — the nickname for it, Deppenapostroph, is not affectionate. An apostrophe is used only when the name already ends in an s-sound and the -s cannot be added: Thomas' Auto.
Writing uses des; speaking uses von dem.
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