B2 · 6/7 #RESMIEDATLAR

Formal genitive prepositions

die Präpositionen mit Genitiv

Formal genitive prepositions such as aufgrund, infolge, anhand and mittels are advanced prepositions used in writing and official contexts; they always take the genitive.

When you move into B2 writing, basic prepositions like wegen and trotz give way to more formal genitive prepositions such as aufgrund and ungeachtet.

Contents

Right now: the step up to B2 writing

ShortcutThe wegen, trotz, während you met while learning the genitive are for everyday language. At B2, especially in the Schreiben section and in formal correspondence, you use more “polished” prepositions that carry the same meanings.

Wegen des Regens bleiben wir hier.

We’re staying here because of the rain. (everyday / standard)

Aufgrund des Regens bleiben wir hier.

We’re staying here owing to the rain. (formal / written)

These prepositions are always used with the genitive (the “of” case). The articles of the nouns change like this: der/das → des, die/die (plural) → der.

You already do this in English

To a friend you say “I couldn’t come because of the bad weather”. But when you write to your boss or to an official body, it becomes “owing to / due to adverse weather conditions”. The meaning is the same, but the register is different.

Everyday phrase	Formal phrase	German equivalent (with genitive)
... because of	... owing to / due to	aufgrund des Wetters
... with the help of	... by means of	mittels eines Formulars
... despite	... notwithstanding	ungeachtet der Probleme

In a formal exam or a business email, using the right-hand column always earns extra points.

Mangels Beweisen wurde er freigesprochen.

He was acquitted for lack of evidence.

Table: the staple prepositions of B2

You should pin this table above your desk. All of them take the genitive:

Preposition	Meaning	Example
aufgrund	due to / owing to	aufgrund des Unfalls
infolge	as a result of	infolge der Krise
anhand	on the basis of / using	anhand der Daten
mittels	by means of	mittels eines Passworts
bezüglich / hinsichtlich	regarding / with regard to	bezüglich Ihrer Anfrage

Preposition	Meaning	Example
zugunsten	in favour of / for the benefit of	zugunsten der Kinder
ungeachtet	despite / regardless of	ungeachtet des Risikos
mangels	for lack of / in the absence of	mangels einer Alternative
zwecks	for the purpose of (usually without an article)	zwecks Klärung

Don’t forget to add -s or -es to the end of masculine (der) and neuter (das) nouns (des Unfalls).

Bezüglich Ihres Schreibens vom 3. Mai...

With reference to your letter of 3 May...

Spelling trap: aufgrund von

Wir bleiben aufgrund des schlechten Wetters zu Hause.

We’re staying at home because of the bad weather.

Trap

Failing to form the genitive and using the dative

If the noun has no article and the genitive can’t be shown (for example, a bare plural or a proper name), then von + Dativ is used. But if there is an article, you must use the genitive.

Aufgrund von dem schlechten Wetter

Wrong. There is an article, so von can’t be used.

Aufgrund des schlechten Wetters

The correct form is the genitive.

Aufgrund von technischen Problemen

Correct. No article (plural), so von + Dativ can be used. Because of the adjective, the genitive is visible too: aufgrund technischer Probleme.

This rule also applies to infolge and anhand.

Practice now

What you just learned

Ich schreibe Ihnen ___ (regarding) Ihrer Anzeige.
Show the answer
bezüglich — To say “regarding / with reference to” a topic in correspondence, bezüglich is very common.
"Wir rufen Sie zwecks der Klärung an." is the ideal usage preferred in B2 business German.
Show the answer
False. Germans use the preposition "zwecks" almost always without an article: "zwecks Klärung".
Aufgrund ___ (der Fehler - masculine) musste das System neu gestartet werden.
Show the answer
des Fehlers — aufgrund takes the genitive. With masculine and neuter nouns, the genitive both turns the article into des and adds -s to the noun.

The part nobody tells you: “zwecks” doesn’t like articles

Although zwecks (for the purpose of) in theory takes the genitive, Germans use it without an article almost every time.

Wir treffen uns zwecks der Besprechung.

Sounds very clumsy.

Wir treffen uns zwecks Besprechung.

Short and pure office German (Bürodeutsch).

If you are handing in a document you can say “zwecks Kontrolle” (for checking), and if you are asking a question you can say “zwecks Klärung” (for clarification).

06Build

Build the sentence yourself

Tap the words and put them in order. This is the hardest part of German — and there are no options to pick from, you build it.

tap the words
tap the words
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Tips

Know this before the test

The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.

Most formal prepositions take the genitive
Don’t forget the change der/das -> des (+s), die/die -> der. A few, like gemäß, zufolge and laut, take the dative.
aufgrund des Regens (der Regen -> des Regens)
No article? von + Dativ comes to the rescue
With plurals and article-less words where the genitive isn’t visible, von is added.
aufgrund von Problemen
zwecks is usually used without an article
After zwecks the noun comes bare, as if it were in the base form, with no article.
zwecks Überprüfung (for the purpose of checking)

aufgrund dem Regen
aufgrund des Regens
aufgrund always takes the genitive. The dative is not used.
infolge der Unfall
infolge des Unfalls
der Unfall (masculine) -> des Unfalls (genitive + the s ending).

0605:00

Test yourself

Tap an answer — we will look at why together.

des schlechten Wetters fiel das Konzert aus.

The concert was cancelled owing to the bad weather.

Because it gives the “reason / cause” of something, you use aufgrund (the formal version of wegen).

Das Problem konnte eines neuen Programms gelöst werden.

The problem could be solved by means of a new program.

To say “with the help of / by means of” something, you use mittels.

Aufgrund (der Fehler - masculine) musste das System neu gestartet werden.

Because of the error the system had to be restarted.

des Fehlers — aufgrund takes the genitive. With masculine and neuter nouns, the genitive both turns the article into des and adds -s to the noun.

Wir müssen die Entscheidung der neuen Daten überdenken.

We have to reconsider the decision on the basis of the new data.

Doing something “on the basis of / by looking at” a document or data is expressed with anhand.

Infolge (die Wirtschaftskrise) verloren viele Menschen ihren Job.

As a result of the economic crisis, many people lost their jobs.

der Wirtschaftskrise — infolge takes the genitive. With feminine nouns the genitive article is der and the noun gets no ending.

Build the sentence: Despite the accident, the road was clear.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

Ungeachtet des Unfalls war die Straße frei. ungeachtet (despite) is a formal preposition and always takes the genitive (des Unfalls).

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Worksheet

Formal prepositions worksheet

This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.

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Conditionals without wenn

hätte ich · sollte es · wäre er

A German conditional clause can drop wenn and put the conjugated verb first instead: Hätte ich Zeit, würde ich kommen.

The B2 path · step 7 / 7

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