d er Genitiv

1. der Genitiv The genitive case in German shows possession and is expressed in English by the possessive "of" or an apostrophe-s ('s).

2. The genitive is used more in written German than in spoken form. In spoken, everyday German, von plus the dative often replaces the genitive: Das Auto von meinemBruder = My brother's car. – (The Car of my brother)

3. Take a good look at this chart.

4. Take another look at how the definite articles change. des der der die des das der die (plural)

5. Take another look at how the indefinite articles change. eines ein (der word) eine (die word) einer eines Ein (das word)

6. If the noun being written in the genitive is a der (masuline) or das (neuter) noun, then the noun itself will take either an s or an es ending. If the noun is more than one syllable long, it will normally just take an s. The time of my life – die ZeitmeinesLebens The circle of life – der Kreis desLebens If the noun is one syllable long, it will normally just take an es. My friend’s car – das Auto meinesFreundes The title of the film – der Titel desFilmes Feminine & Plural nouns do not take any additional endings.

7. The Genitive case is also used with certain Genitive prepositions. while / during während statt / anstatt Instead of außerhalb outside of innerhalb inside of trotz despite / in spite of wegen because of

8. Übungmacht den Meister! – Practice makes perfect 1) The war of the stars. (die Sterne / der Krieg) Der Krieg der Sterne. 2) He is the master of the game. (der Meister / das Spiel) Erist der Meister des Spieles. 3) It is the end of the world. (das Ende / die Welt) Esist das Ende der Welt.

9. Additional Note When showing possession with the names of people, countries or cities, German adds an s (without an apostrophe): Das istJakobsHaus. Das istWilfriedsBuch. Das istAtlantasFlughafen.