Belonging to someone or something
The Genitiv is the fourth case. It says that one noun belongs to another: my brother's car, the end of the film. German builds it like English of: the owner comes after the thing owned. A noun phrase that stands right behind another noun is a Genitiv.
The owner moves behind the noun
Das ist das Auto meines Bruders.
That's my brother's car.
Das Ende des Films war überraschend.
The end of the film was surprising.
Die Farbe der Wand gefällt mir nicht.
I don't like the colour of the wall.
The forms
Genitiv articles and noun endings
| Nominativ | definite | indefinite |
|---|---|---|
| der Vater | des Vaters | eines Vaters |
| das Kind | des Kindes | eines Kindes |
| die Mutter | der Mutter | einer Mutter |
| die Eltern | der Eltern | — |
kein, mein, dein and the other possessives take the same endings as ein.
The Genitiv has only two article forms: des for masculine and neuter, der for feminine and plural. Masculine and neuter nouns also get an ending of their own. Feminine and plural nouns stay as they are.
The ending is -es after short words and after an s-sound (s, ß, x, z, sch): des Mannes, des Hauses, des Tisches. After longer words it is -s: des Lehrers, des Fensters.
An adjective between the article and the noun always ends in -en here: das Auto meines älteren Bruders, die Farbe der neuen Wand.
Die Tür des Hauses ist offen.
The door of the house is open.
Das ist das Büro des Lehrers.
That's the teacher's office.
Das Haus meiner Eltern liegt am See.
My parents' house is by the lake.
Der Name der Firma hat sich geändert.
The company's name has changed.
Names
A name goes in front of the noun and takes -s, with no article, just like English: Annas Auto. A name that already ends in s, ß, x or z takes only an apostrophe: Hans' Fahrrad.
Annas Auto steht draußen.
Anna's car is outside.
Peters Wohnung ist sehr schön.
Peter's flat is very nice.
Hans' Fahrrad ist kaputt.
Hans's bike is broken.
Genitiv or von + Dativ?
In everyday speech the Genitiv often gives way to von + Dativ: das Auto von meinem Bruder. Both are correct. The Genitiv is the usual choice in writing. With a noun that has no article there is no case ending to show the Genitiv, so von is the normal way.
Genitiv: writing
Der Chef der Firma hat gekündigt.
The head of the company has resigned.
Die Bewohner der Stadt protestieren.
The residents of the city are protesting.
von + Dativ: speech
Das ist das Auto von meinem Bruder.
That's my brother's car.
Der Preis von Gemüse ist gestiegen.
The price of vegetables has gone up.
no article, so von
Fixed phrases
A few Genitiv phrases are so common that you should learn them whole.
Meiner Meinung nach ist das zu teuer.
In my opinion that's too expensive.
Eines Tages werde ich das verstehen.
One day I'll understand it.
Bis Ende des Jahres bleibe ich hier.
I'm staying here until the end of the year.
