The genitive case (Genitiv)

What is the genitive case?

The genitive (Genitiv) is the case that expresses possession or a close relationship between two nouns. It answers the question wessen? (whose?). In English we use of or 's; in German the second noun changes its article and often its ending.

• Das ist das Auto des Mannes. (That is the man's car.)
• Ich kenne die Tasche der Frau. (I know the woman's bag.)

Endings on masculine and neuter nouns

Masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es in the genitive singular. Short, one-syllable nouns usually take -es; longer nouns take -s.

• das Buch des Kindes (the child's book)
• das Auto des Mannes (the man's car)
• der Titel des Films (the title of the film)
• das Ende des Tages (the end of the day)

Feminine nouns and all plural nouns do not add an ending; only the article changes.

• die Tasche der Frau (the woman's bag)
• die Spielsachen der Kinder (the children's toys)

The genitive articles

Gender / Number	Nominative	Genitive (definite)	Genitive (indefinite)
Masculine	der Mann	des Mannes	eines Mannes
Neuter	das Kind	des Kindes	eines Kindes
Feminine	die Frau	der Frau	einer Frau
Plural	die Kinder	der Kinder	— (kein: keiner)

• Das ist das Zimmer eines Kindes. (That is a child's room.)
• Die Meinung einer Freundin ist mir wichtig. (A friend's opinion matters to me.)

Proper names

With proper names, German simply adds -s (no apostrophe in standard German) and places the name before the noun.

• Annas Buch liegt hier. (Anna's book is here.)
• Peters Auto ist neu. (Peter's car is new.)
• Das ist Marias Idee. (That is Maria's idea.)

If a name already ends in -s, -z or -x, an apostrophe is used: Max' Hund (Max's dog).

Genitive prepositions

Several prepositions are followed by the genitive. These are common in written and formal German.

Preposition	Meaning	Example
wegen	because of	Wegen des Wetters bleiben wir zu Hause. (Because of the weather we stay home.)
während	during	Während der Pause esse ich. (During the break I eat.)
trotz	despite	Trotz des Regens gehen wir spazieren. (Despite the rain we go for a walk.)
(an)statt	instead of	Statt des Autos nehme ich das Rad. (Instead of the car I take the bike.)
innerhalb	within	Innerhalb einer Woche antworte ich. (Within a week I will answer.)

The spoken alternative: von + Dative

In everyday spoken German, people very often replace the genitive with von + Dative, especially with people and names.

• das Auto von meinem Bruder (= das Auto meines Bruders) (my brother's car)
• die Tasche von der Frau (= die Tasche der Frau) (the woman's bag)
• das Haus von den Eltern (= das Haus der Eltern) (the parents' house)

This is fully correct in conversation, but for the written exam the proper genitive looks more polished.

Common mistakes

• Wrong: das Auto des Frau — Correct: das Auto der Frau** (feminine uses der, not des).
• Wrong: das Buch des Kind — Correct: das Buch des Kindes** (neuter noun needs -es).
• Wrong: Anna's Buch — Correct: Annas** Buch (no apostrophe in standard German).
• Wrong: wegen dem Wetter — Correct: wegen des Wetters (wegen takes the genitive in standard German).
• Wrong: die Tasche von der Frau's — Correct: die Tasche von der Frau** (von + Dative needs no genitive ending).

Relevance for the Goethe B1 exam

The genitive appears across all four modules. In Lesen (65 min, 5 Teile) you meet genitive prepositions like wegen and während in formal texts. In Hören (~40 min, 4 Teile) you hear the spoken von + Dativ form. In Schreiben (60 min, 3 Aufgaben) using Annas Buch or trotz des Regens makes your writing more precise. In Sprechen (~15 min, 3 Teile) the von alternative keeps you fluent. You need 60% to pass, so recognising both forms is worthwhile.

Ready to test your genitive skills? Try a mock exam.