German grammar · Beginner (A1)
Possessives: mein, dein, sein …
How to say my, your, his, her, our and their in German, and the endings these words take.
The possessive words
Possessives are words like “my” and “your” that show who something belongs to. Each personal pronoun has its own possessive.
| Pronoun | Possessive | English |
|---|---|---|
| my | ||
| your (informal) | ||
| his, its | ||
| her, its | ||
| its | ||
| our | ||
| your (informal, plural) | ||
| their | ||
| your (formal) |
Endings like ein and kein
Possessives take the same endings as and . The ending depends on the thing you have, not on the owner: (masculine), (feminine).
drops its second e when it has an ending: , .
| Case | masculine | feminine | neuter | plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | ||||
| accusative | ||||
| dative |
- Das ist mein Bruder.This is my brother.
- Ich suche meinen Schlüssel.I'm looking for my key.
- Sie wohnt bei ihrer Tante.She lives with her aunt.
- Ist das eure Wohnung?Is this your flat?
Ihr: her, their or your
can mean “her” or “their”, and with a capital I it means formal “your”. The context usually makes the meaning clear.
- Anna kommt mit ihrem Mann.Anna is coming with her husband.
- Die Kinder spielen mit ihren Freunden.The children are playing with their friends.
- Ist das Ihr Koffer?Is this your suitcase? (formal)
Names: Annas Auto
With names, add -s without an apostrophe: (Anna's car). In everyday speech, people also say .
- Das ist Peters Fahrrad.That's Peter's bike.
- Das ist die Tasche von meiner Mutter.That's my mother's bag.