Genitiv

• Genitive (Genitiv) is one of the four cases (Kasus) in German, mainly used to express possession.
• This case often appears in writing, formal language, and in certain fixed structures.

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1. Concept of the cases (Kasus) of nouns

📌 In German, nouns have four cases (Kasus):

Case	Function	Question	Example
Nominative	Subject	Wer? Was?	Der Hund spielt. (The dog is playing.)
Accusative	Direct object	Wen? Was?	Ich sehe den Hund. (I see the dog.)
Dative	Indirect object	Wem?	Ich gebe dem Hund das Futter. (I give the dog the food.)
Genitive	Possession	Wessen?	Das ist das Haus des Mannes. (That is the man’s house.)

Note:

• Genitive often answers the question "Wessen?" (Whose?).
• Expresses possession and relationships between nouns.
• Common in formal writing and style.

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2. Overview of the genitive case

📌 Genitive has two main patterns:

• Genitive for masculine and neuter nouns → Add "-s" or "-es".
• Genitive for feminine and plural nouns → No change in the noun, only the article changes.

Gender	Nominative	Genitive
Masculine	der Mann	des Mannes
Feminine	die Frau	der Frau
Neuter	das Kind	des Kindes
Plural	die Kinder	der Kinder

Examples:

• Das Auto des Mannes ist rot.
  (The man’s car is red.)

• Die Tasche der Frau ist teuer.
  (The woman’s bag is expensive.)

• Die Spielsachen des Kindes sind überall.
  (The child’s toys are everywhere.)

• Die Meinung der Leute ist wichtig.
  (People’s opinion is important.)

Note:

• Masculine and neuter nouns usually add "-s" or "-es" in the genitive.
• Feminine and plural nouns don’t change their ending, only the article changes.

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3. Some prepositions that require the genitive

📌 Some prepositions always take the genitive case.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
während	During	Während des Urlaubs haben wir viele Fotos gemacht. (During the vacation, we took many photos.)
trotz	Despite	Trotz des schlechten Wetters sind wir spazieren gegangen. (Despite the bad weather, we went for a walk.)
wegen	Because of	Wegen der Verspätung haben wir den Zug verpasst. (Because of the delay, we missed the train.)
anstatt / statt	Instead of	Anstatt eines Autos kaufte er ein Fahrrad. (Instead of a car, he bought a bike.)
innerhalb	Within	Innerhalb einer Woche müssen wir das Projekt beenden. (We have to finish the project within a week.)
außerhalb	Outside of	Außerhalb der Stadt gibt es viele Bauernhöfe. (There are many farms outside the city.)

More examples:

• Wegen des Unfalls war die Straße gesperrt.
  (Because of the accident, the street was closed.)

• Anstatt eines Kaffees bestellte sie einen Tee.
  (Instead of a coffee, she ordered a tea.)

• Innerhalb einer Stunde bin ich fertig.
  (I’ll be finished within an hour.)

Note:

• These prepositions always take the genitive.
• In modern spoken language, many people replace genitive with dative (e.g. "wegen dem Wetter"), but this is not correct according to standard grammar.

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🎯 4. Summary of key points

note

Genitive is used to express possession and relationships between nouns.
Masculine and neuter nouns add "-s" or "-es" in the genitive.
Feminine and plural nouns don’t change their ending, only the article changes.
Some prepositions like "wegen", "trotz", "während" always require the genitive.