What is genitive in German?
German has four cases: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. We use the genitive to express possession or ownership. We can give more detail about a noun with an additional noun in the genitive case, known as a genitive attribute. The genitive attribute tells us who something belongs to.
What is genitive case in Deutsch?
The genitive case in German will mostly be used to show possession, but can also be replaced by von+dative. Feminine nouns have no ending in the genitive case, while masculine and neutral nouns mostly take the ending -s or -es, sometimes also -(e)n.
What is a genitive and examples?
(dʒɛnɪtɪv ) singular noun [the N] In the grammar of some languages, the genitive, or the genitive case, is a noun case which is used mainly to show possession. In English grammar, a noun or name with `s added to it, for example `dog's' or `Anne's,' is sometimes called the genitive form.
Does German Have genitive?
The genitive case in English or in German shows a relationship between two nouns. The noun in the genitive case modifies (tells us something about) the other noun. The first noun is part of, connected to, belongs to, or depends on the noun in the genitive case.
How do you use genitive case?
The basic use of the genitive case is to express a relationship between one noun and another noun, e.g. possession. It thus usually forms a noun phrase, hence my nickname, the “gregarious genitive, ” because it likes to hang out with other nouns. I use the color orange for the genitive.
What are the genitive prepositions in German?
There are only a few common genitive prepositions in German, including: (an)statt (instead of), außerhalb/innerhalb (outside/inside of), trotz (in spite of), während (during) and wegen (because of). Notice that most of the time the genitive prepositions can be translated with "of" in English.
What is the difference between genitive and possessive?
In general, "genitive" is the term used for a case which has a broader usage than simply indicating possession. For instance, if you review this list of uses for the Latin genitive, you'll see that only the first is possessive in the narrow sense of the word. So basically, possessive is just the OWNER of the noun?
What is the difference between nominative and genitive?
Nominative: The naming case; used for subjects. Genitive: The possession case; used to indicate ownership. Accusative: The direct object case; used to indicate direct receivers of an action.
How do I find my genitive case?
The genitive case is predominantly used for showing possession. With nouns, it is usually created by adding 's to the word or by preceding it with "of." Most people will encounter the term "genitive case" when studying a language other than English.
What is genitive and dative in German?
The dative case is for indirect objects. The indirect object is the person or thing who “gets” the direct object. So in the sentence “The girl kicks the ball to the boy”, “the boy” is the indirect object. The genitive case is used to express possession.
What is Akkusativ German?
The accusative case, akkusativ, is the one that is used to convey the direct object of a sentence; the person or thing being affected by the action carried out by the subject. This is achieved in different ways in different languages. Let's begin!
What is dative in German?
German. In general, the dative (German: Dativ) is used to mark the indirect object of a German sentence. For example: Ich schickte dem Mann(e) das Buch. (literally: I sent "to the man" the book.)
Are there genitive pronouns in German?
German pronouns have genitive forms, but they are used only rarely nowadays, mostly in archaic or formal German. In many cases, a preposition can be added to allow a different case to be used. Ich erinnere mich ihrer. (I remember her) Also possible: Ich erinnere mich an sie.
What is the dative case in German?
4. The Dative Case (Der Dativ) The dative case describes the indirect object of a sentence in German and English and answers the question, “wem?” (whom), or “was?” (what). Typically, we use the dative case for indirect objects, which usually receive an action from the direct object (in the accusative case).
What is the accusative case in German?
The "accusative case" is used when the noun is the direct object in the sentence. In other words, when it's the thing being affected (or "verbed") in the sentence. And when a noun is in the accusative case, the words for "the" change a teeny tiny bit from the nominative.
What case is Trotz?
the genitive caseA few German prepositions are governed by the genitive case. That is, they take an object in the genitive case. There are only a few common genitive prepositions in German, including: (an)statt (instead of), außerhalb/innerhalb (outside/inside of), trotz (in spite of), während (during) and wegen (because of).
What is the genitive case in German?
The German genitive case indicates possession. Whereas in the English language you use an “-‘s” or the preposition “of” to show position, in German you add “-es” or “-er” to dependent possessive pronouns. Well, in German we use the genitive after certain prepositions, verbs and adjectives.
When is a noun a genitive?
A noun is in the genitive case when it is a attribute of another noun or when it indicates possession. German usually use the question “Wessen?” to determine the genitive element of a sentence.
How many types of declension are there for the genitive?
There are three types of declension for the genitive, which are indicated by the article and the wordending.
Can you use dependent possessive pronouns in the German genitive?
Well, keep in mind that we only use dependent possessive pronouns in the genitive case. Furthermore, you should always remind that personal pronouns and independent possessive pronouns cannot be put into the German genitive. So, in the following table I’d like to give you an overview about the mentioned dependent possessive pronouns and their genitive endings.
Importance of Genitive Case
For non-Germans, there are other genitive problems of more concern. While it is true that the genitive case is used less in spoken German, and its frequency even in formal, written German has declined over the last few decades, there are still many situations when mastery of the genitive is important.
Form Is Mostly Predictable
The genitive form of most neuter and masculine nouns in German is fairly predictable, with an - s or - es ending. (Almost all nouns ending in s , ss , ß , sch , z or tz must end with - es in the genitive.) However, there are some nouns with unusual genitive forms.
Genitive Adjective Endings
Before we take an even closer look at the genitive case, let's mention one area of the genitive that is mercifully simple: the genitive adjective endings.
Formulaic Genitive Expressions
The genitive is also used in some common idiomatic or formulaic expressions in German (which are not usually translated into English with "of"). Such phrases include:
Using "Von" Instead of the Genitive Case
In colloquial German, especially in certain dialects, the genitive is usually replaced by a von -phrase or (particulary in Austria and southern Germany) with a possessive pronoun phrase: der/dem Erich sein Haus (Erich's house), die/der Maria ihre Freunde (Maria's friends).
What is the genitive used for in German?
The genitive in German will mostly be used to show possession. The question you will use to get the genitive is wessen? (whose?)
What is the ending of genitive in German?
The adjective ending for the genitive will almost always be -en.
What is the dative of death?
The phrase 'The dative is the genitive's death' is something used to describe the current position of the genitive and its biggest rival - the dative case. In a lot of dialects, but also in everyday German, the genitive case will be replaced by the dative plus the preposition von. Let's take a look at a example:
Does the genitive have an article?
Just like with all the other cases in German, the genitive will have a different article than der, die, das. Let's look at two charts to see what the definite and indefinite article will look like in the genitive case:
Who is the instructor of the German genitive case?
The Genitive Case in German. Instructor: Sandra Salajic. Show bio. Sandra has a master's degree in teaching German. She has taught middle and high school German, and worked on different on- and offline courses with kids and adults.
Do all adjectives have to match?
Every adjective will have to match its noun in number, gender, and case. For the genitive case, the adjective ending will almost always be -en. This means that you will have the same adjective ending for all genders, in singular and plural and for more or less all articles.
Is the genitive case dying?
Many Germans will agree that the genitive case is slowly dying. While this is not completely the case, and the genitive is still an important part of the language, it is true that it's now used much less than it was a few centuries ago.
German words ending on s
In these cases, you have a Zischlaut (sibilant) at the end of the word, so adding an -s wouldn’t change anything. And that’s a problem
No ending?
Examples: der Fokus (focus), der Kapitalismus (capitalism), das Leasing (leasing), der Shitstorm (the “flak”)
What is a genitive case?
What Is the Genitive Case? (with Examples) The genitive case is predominantly used for showing possession. With nouns, it is usually created by adding 's to the word or by preceding it with "of.". Most people will encounter the term "genitive case" when studying a language other than English.
What is the possessive case?
The "genitive case" is also called the "possessive case.". The two terms are interchangeable, but "possessive case" is more common in English study. However, as this case does not always show possession, some grammarians like to make a distinction between the genitive case and the possessive case. For example:
What is Smashing Grammar?
Written by the founder of Grammar Monster, "Smashing Grammar" includes a comprehensive A-Z glossary of essential grammar terms, a detailed punctuation section, and a chapter on easily confused words. Each entry kicks off with a simple explanation and some basic examples before giving real-life, entertaining examples.
Does the genitive case change?
In other languages (again, most obviously German and Russian), nouns in the genitive case change too (i.e., it's not just the adjectives and articles ). In German, the genitive case is so important that most German dictionaries show the genitive form as well as the plural form of every entry for a noun. For example:
Is Constable's painting possessive or genitive?
Constable's paintings. (This is not about possession. It's about paintings by Constable. Some would argue this is the genitive case and not the possessive case.) It is worth reiterating that the two terms are interchangeable. However, you might also encounter writers who make a more marked distinction between the two.
Is genitive case important?
Learning a foreign language? The genitive case is important. So, get your head around those adjective and noun tables!
Is "dinner of the dog" a genitive?
The dinner of the dog. There are no issues with the two examples above. However, look at this pairing: Picasso's painting. Painting by Picasso. (The phrase "by Picasso" is not the genitive case, even though it is an expansion of something which is.
