![]() With supposedly “genitive” prepositions the dative is often used. So, das Haus d es Mann es > das Haus vom Mann eine Frau gut en Willen s > eine Frau von guten Willen ein Viertel sein es Energiebedarf s > ein Viertel von seinem Energiebedarf…. Very often, for possession (or other noun + noun combos) Germans instinctively replace the genitive with “von” + dative. “ich bin d er Ansicht, dass” (I think/my view is, that literally: I am of the view, that”).Some are very literary but a few are used often in the informal language, such as: There are other “set phrases” where the genitive is used. The German genitive is also used with a small number of verbs, adverbs and adjectives but these are very low frequency (mainly in a formal style) (see “Verbs” section below). “ein es Tag es” (on one day) or morgen s (mornings/of a morning)įor more, see “Time expressions”, below.There are some genitive expressions of indefinite or habitual time: Wegen d er Kälte ziehe ich mir warme Kleidung an (Because of the cold weather, I’m putting on warm clothes).įor many examples, see the “Prepositions” section, below.One of the first that learners often meet is “wegen” (because, on account of): die Beschreibung d es Journalist en (the journalist’s description/the description of the journalist)( thing + narrower definition of thing).Ī small number of prepositions also use the genitive.die Verteilung d es Geld es (the distribution of the money)( something done + thing it’s done to).der Abflug d es Flugzeug es ( something done + doer)(the aeroplane’s departure/the departure of the aeroplane die Befreiung d er Geiseln (the freeing of the hostages).ein Glas Bier s (a glass of Beer literally “a beer’s glass”)( quantity + thing).eine große Anzahl Hersteller (a large number of manufacturers) am Anfang d er Woche (at the beginning of the week) ein Viertel sein es Energiebedarf s (a third of his/its energy requirements)( part + larger whole).eine Frau gut en Willen s (a woman of good will)( thing + a quality it has).In these examples, the possession is literal ownership but the genitive is also used (in English and German) to show various loser relationships between two nouns. You’ll often come across the genitive in German, where in English we’d use “of” or an apostrophe + s to link two nouns to express possession: das Haus des Mannes (the man’s house/the house of the man) das neue Kleid der Frau (the woman’s new dress/the new dress of the woman). ![]() To express possession and other noun-noun relationship If, however, you’re unsure about how the German case system operates in general, the best place to start is my overview post: German cases made simple (without endless tables). This post gives you the low-down on the genitive and it’s free standing. When is the German genitive case used? A quick overview Discover how YOU can use Dr P's free Weekly Workout Routine to get ready for more confident German conversations in a matter of weeks. I’ll also explain the uses of the genitive and give you lots of examples.īut first, here’s a third source of comfort: in form and use, you’ll see that the German genitive has marked parallels with English (did you even know that English, too has a genitive or “possessive” case?). In this post, you’ll find them set them out back-of-a postcard style. So, you’ll be glad of a second piece of good news: the genitive endings are not complicated. ![]() The genitive may be down, but it certainly ain’t out.Īs an intermediate learner, you won’t need to use it much…but you certainly do need to recognise it. Some usages are very common and, in my experience, it crops up a lot more than some German teachers would have you believe. There’s even a book with the witty title Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod (The Dative is the Death of the Genitive) with a spin-off board game (!)īut, actually, the book isn’t ALL about the genitive…and rumours of its demise are premature. The trend has led some to predict the death of the genitive. In less formal German, especially in conversation, natives often instinctively use alternative structures to get the same ideas across. Yep, the first of three good pieces of news about the case is that it’s by far the least-used of German’s four cases.Įven in higher registers of written German, the genitive can sometimes appear stilted, archaic or over-the-top. There are some nifty genitive-avoiding workarounds too! In this example-packed post you’ll discover how to form the German genitive case and what it’s used for.
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