Genitiv
der Genitiv
The Genitiv is the German case of possession, and certain prepositions also require it: des Mannes, der Frau, trotz des Regens.
“Das Auto des Mannes” — the man’s car. The Genitiv shows possession: most masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es, feminine and plural nouns don’t. English puts ’s on every owner; German changes the article by gender, and in speech “von” often takes its place.
The big picture: two articles, two endings
The Genitiv is the fourth row of the case table. If the other three have not settled yet, go back to them first — this page sits on top of them.
ShortcutThe article is masculine/neuter → des, feminine/plural → der. And only masculine/neuter nouns get -s or -es. A feminine noun never changes.
| Gender | Article | Ending on the noun | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | des | -s / -es | das Auto des Mannes |
| neuter | des | -s / -es | die Tür des Hauses |
| feminine | der | — | das Auto der Frau |
| plural | der | — | die Autos der Kinder |
The same holds for indefinite articles: eines Mannes · einer Frau · eines Kindes. And for possessives: meines Bruders · meiner Schwester.
Das ist das Auto meines Bruders.
That is my brother’s car.
English does this too — but the other way round
English has two ways to show ownership: the owner up front with ’s (the man’s car), or the owner at the back with of (the door of the house). German uses the second order: it names the thing owned first and throws the owner to the back, marked by the article.
| English | Order | German |
|---|---|---|
| the man’s car | owner first → | das Auto des Mannes ← owner last |
| the woman’s bag | owner first → | die Tasche der Frau |
| the door of the house | owner last — like German | die Tür des Hauses |
This flip is where people who build the sentence in English and then translate trip most often. The right reflex: say the OWNED thing first, then the owner.
Second difference: in English the owner always takes ’s. In German a feminine noun never changes — only its article does. der Frau, not der Frauens.
-s or -es
Masculine and neuter nouns have two options, and the choice depends on the length of the word and its last letter.
| Case | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| one syllable | -es | des Kindes · des Mannes · des Hauses |
| several syllables | -s | des Lehrers · des Computers · des Vaters |
| ending in -s · -ss · -ß · -z · -tz | -es is required | des Platzes · des Gesetzes |
With one-syllable words you can also hear -s (des Manns), but in writing -es is preferred. If you hesitate in an exam, put -es on the one-syllable word.
Proper names: no apostrophe in German
With people’s names the Genitiv goes in front and simply takes -s. The English reflex is a mistake here: no apostrophe.
Anna’s Auto
Your English habit — wrong in German.
Annas Auto
Anna’s car.
Peters Bruder wohnt in Berlin.
Peter’s brother lives in Berlin.
Exception: if the name already ends in -s · -z · -x, the apostrophe does come — Hans’ Auto · Max’ Buch. The alternative is more common: das Auto von Hans.
Prepositions that take the Genitiv
The Genitiv does not only answer “whose?”. It also turns up after a group of prepositions. These are classic B1 written-exam questions.
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wegen | because of | wegen des Wetters — because of the weather |
| trotz | despite | trotz des Regens — despite the rain |
| während | during | während der Woche — during the week |
| statt / anstatt | instead of | statt des Autos — instead of the car |
| außerhalb / innerhalb | outside / inside, within | innerhalb einer Woche — within a week |
während is both a preposition and a conjunction. As a preposition it goes with a noun and takes the Genitiv (während der Woche); as a conjunction it goes with a clause and sends the verb to the end (während ich koche). The second is on the time conjunctions page.
wegen dem Wetter — fine on the street, wrong in the exam
Most Germans use wegen and trotz with the Dativ in everyday speech. You will hear it, a lot. But in a written exam it counts as a mistake — the Duden still says Genitiv.
wegen dem Wetter
Common on the street, wrong in the exam.
wegen des Wetters
Because of the weather. — this is the correct one.
Exception: if the word after it has no article, the Genitiv is invisible and the Dativ is correct — wegen Umbau geschlossen (closed due to renovation). You will see this sign a lot in Germany.
What nobody tells you: where the von escape is allowed and where it isn’t
Plenty of sources say “the Genitiv is dying, just use von” and close the topic. That is half true. The escape is not free everywhere — it is required in three places and optional in two.
| Where | Genitiv | von + Dativ |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday speech | das Auto des Mannes | das Auto von dem Mann — allowed |
| Proper name | Annas Auto | das Auto von Anna — allowed |
| wegen · trotz · während | required | not accepted in writing |
| Written exam · formal letter | required | looks low-level |
| Plural without article | die Rechte Kinder — the Genitiv is invisible | required — die Rechte von Kindern ✓ |
So the escape is free when you speak, not when you write. In the written part of the B1 exam, using the Genitiv is a direct level marker — the reader notices.
The second thing nobody says: the Genitiv lives mostly in fixed phrases, and you can use them without knowing the declension. eines Tages (one day) · meiner Meinung nach (in my opinion) · in der Nähe des Bahnhofs (near the station) · am Ende des Monats (at the end of the month). These four alone lift your speaking.
What you just learned
Der Hund des ___
Show the answer
Mannes — In the Genitiv, masculine (der) and neuter (das) nouns take the ending -s or -es.
Which one is “Anna’s car”?
Show the answer
Annas Auto. German does not use an apostrophe with proper names — that is an English habit. Only when the name ends in -s · -z · -x does the apostrophe appear: Hans’ Auto.
Which one is correct in a written exam?
Show the answer
wegen des Wetters. You will hear the Dativ version a lot in speech, but in writing wegen takes the Genitiv. It is one of the spots where exams cost you points directly.
What to do this week
This topic sticks by assigning owners to objects. Five minutes a day:
- Write five objects in your room with their owners: das Buch meines Bruders · die Tasche meiner Schwester.
- Build each one again with von and read the two side by side — which one suits writing?
- Three sentences with wegen: Wegen des Regens bleibe ich zu Hause.
- Three sentences with trotz — and make sure you did not write the Dativ.
- Memorise four phrases: eines Tages · meiner Meinung nach · in der Nähe des … · am Ende des …
Next up: two-part conjunctions — entweder…oder · weder…noch · je…desto.
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.
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tap the words
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tap the words
Know this before the test
The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.
- des / der and the noun’s -(e)s ending
Masculine and neuter nouns take the article des and an -(e)s at the end of the noun: des Mannes · des Hauses. Feminine and plural take der and the noun does not change.
das Auto des Mannes · die Tasche der Frau
- Prepositions that take the Genitiv
wegen · trotz · während · statt take the Genitiv in written German. In speech you also hear them with the Dativ, but exams and formal writing expect the Genitiv.
wegen des Wetters · trotz des Regens · während der Woche
- Proper names: add -s, no apostrophe
With people’s names the Genitiv attaches to the name itself and is used without an article: Annas Auto. The English apostrophe (Anna's) does not exist in German.
Annas Auto · Peters Hund
- In speech, von + Dativ takes its place
In everyday language the Genitiv is dropped and von + Dativ steps in. The meaning is the same; the difference is style — Genitiv in writing, von in speech.
das Auto meines Vaters → das Auto von meinem Vater
das Auto des Mann
das Auto des Mannes
Changing only the article is not enough: masculine and neuter nouns also take -(e)s in the Genitiv.
die Tasche des Frau
die Tasche der Frau
The Genitiv article of feminine nouns is der, and the noun never changes. des is only for masculine and neuter.
Anna's Auto
Annas Auto
The apostrophe comes from English. In German a proper name forms the Genitiv directly with -s.
wegen dem Wetter (in a written exam)
wegen des Wetters
The Dativ version is common in speech, but wegen officially takes the Genitiv, and written exams look for it.
Test yourself
Tap an answer — we will look at why together.
Das ist das Auto Mannes.
That is the man’s car.
Das ist die Tasche Frau.
That is the woman’s bag.
Which one is “Anna’s car”?
Which one is correct in a written exam?
Trotz Regens sind wir spazieren gegangen.
Despite the rain we went for a walk.
Which one means “during the week”?
Practice done — –
To finish the topic, take the full test: score 60% and it is marked as done on your level path.
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Genitiv worksheet
This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.
Related topics
Akkusativ & Dativ
the full article table
Accusative vs dative: what actually changes, and what never moves at all.
Adjective endings
guter · gute · gutes · guten
German adjective endings are the letters an adjective takes when it stands in front of a noun: guter, gute, gutes, guten.
Prepositions and cases
für dich, mit dir
German prepositions are small words that come before a noun, link it to the sentence and decide its case: für dich, mit dir.
The preposition von
vom Arzt · von mir
von is a preposition that always takes the Dativ: von mir, vom Arzt, von Montag bis Freitag.