Genau
Topic test · B1

Genitiv test

13questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
Start the test Read the topic first

One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

13 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

Das ist das Auto Mannes.

That is the man’s car.

des. Masculine and neuter nouns take the Genitiv article des, and the noun gets -es: des Mannes.

Das ist die Tasche Frau.

That is the woman’s bag.

der. Feminine and plural take der, and the noun gets no ending at all. der Frau — there is no such thing as der Fraus.

Which one is “Anna’s car”?

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?

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.

Trotz Regens sind wir spazieren gegangen.

Despite the rain we went for a walk.

des. trotz is a Genitiv preposition, and der Regen is masculine → des Regens.

Which one means “during the week”?

während der Woche. Used with a noun, während is a Genitiv preposition. The second option is also correct German, but there während is a conjunction and goes with a clause.

Wegen Wetters bleiben wir zu Hause.

We are staying home because of the weather.

wegen takes the Genitiv. das Wetter is neuter, so the article is des and the noun becomes Wetters.

Das sind die Spielsachen Kinder.

Those are the children’s toys.

In the plural the Genitiv article is der — gender makes no difference. den is the plural Dativ, des the singular masculine/neuter.

Which one is written correctly?

In the Genitiv, masculine and neuter nouns take -(e)s: das Haus → des Hauses. Changing only the article is not enough; the noun itself changes too.

In spoken German, what most often replaces the Genitiv?

In everyday speech you hear das Auto von meinem Vater instead of das Auto meines Vaters. The Genitiv stays in writing; in speech von + Dativ takes over.

Das Auto die Frau

The woman’s car

The Genitiv article of feminine (die) nouns must be der.

Der Hund des

The man’s dog

In the Genitiv, masculine (der) and neuter (das) nouns take the ending -s or -es.

Build the sentence: My brother’s car is new.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

The Genitiv attribute comes right after the noun: Auto meines Bruders.
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • 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.