The Genitive Case in German
der Genitiv
The genitive case is used to show possession, relationship, or after specific prepositions.
The Genitive case (Genitiv) is used to show possession, relationship, or belonging in German grammar. It corresponds to the English "of" structure or possessive "'s". It answers the questions Wessen? (Whose?). Although it is increasingly replaced by von + Dative in informal spoken German, the Genitive remains an essential element of formal, written, and academic German.
In the Genitive, the articles change: masculine and neuter definite articles become des (indefinite: eines), and their singular nouns must take a suffix -s or -es (e.g., des Vaters, des Buches). Feminine and plural definite articles become der (indefinite: einer for feminine, none for plural), and their nouns do not take any ending.
The Genitive is also governed by a group of specific prepositions (like wegen, während, trotz, statt/anstatt). A common learner mistake is using the Dative after these prepositions in written assignments (e.g., writing wegen dem Regen instead of wegen des Regens). Another mistake is forgetting to add the possessive suffix -s or -es to masculine and neuter nouns in the Genitive.
Examples
Das ist das Auto des Lehrers, das dort drüben steht.
That is the teacher's car standing over there.
Wegen des schlechten Wetters mussten wir zu Hause bleiben.
Because of the bad weather we had to stay at home.
Während des Films durften wir nicht laut sprechen.
During the film we were not allowed to speak loudly.
Trotz der Kopfschmerzen ist sie heute zur Arbeit gegangen.
Despite the headache, she went to work today.
Das Haus meines Freundes hat einen sehr schönen Garten.
My friend's house has a very beautiful garden.
Related terms
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