Genitiv - The possessive case

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

1. The concept of noun cases (Kasus)

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

Kasus	Role	Question	Example
Nominativ	Subject	Wer? Was?	Der Hund spielt. (The dog is playing.)
Akkusativ	Direct object	Wen? Was?	Ich sehe den Hund. (I see the dog.)
Dativ	Indirect object	Wem?	Ich gebe dem Hund das Futter. (I give the food to the dog.)
Genitiv	Indicates possession	Wessen?	Das ist das Haus des Mannes. (This is the man's house.)

Note:

📌 The Genitiv case has two main forms:

Genitiv of masculine (Maskulin) and neuter (Neutrum) nouns → Add "-s" or "-es".
Genitiv of feminine (Feminin) and plural (Plural) nouns → No change, only the article changes.

Example:

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:

📌 Some prepositions always go with a noun in the Genitiv.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
während	During	Während des Urlaubs haben wir viele Fotos gemacht. (During the holiday, we took many photos.)
trotz	Despite	Trotz des schlechten Wetters sind wir spazieren gegangen. (Despite the bad weather, we still 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 bicycle.)
innerhalb	Within	Innerhalb einer Woche müssen wir das Projekt beenden. (We have to finish the project within one week.)
außerhalb	Outside	Außerhalb der Stadt gibt es viele Bauernhöfe. (Outside the city there are many farms.)

Additional examples:

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

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

Innerhalb einer Stunde bin ich fertig.
(I will be done within an hour.)

Note:

These prepositions always go with a noun in the Genitiv.
In modern spoken language, many people replace the Genitiv with the Dativ (e.g., "wegen dem Wetter"), but this is not correct according to standard grammar.

ℹ️ Note

💡

Genitiv is used to indicate possession and the relationship between nouns.
Masculine and neuter nouns add "-s" or "-es" in the Genitiv.
Feminine and plural nouns do not change their ending, only the article changes.
Some prepositions such as "wegen", "trotz", "während" always go with the Genitiv.

ℹ️ Exercise

Practice exercise

Apply what you've just learned about the Genitiv:

Practice conjugating nouns in the Genitiv case and using prepositions that go with the Genitiv.