German grammar · Intermediate (B1)
The genitive: des Kontos, der Firma
The fourth German case: how the genitive shows belonging, its articles and endings, prepositions like wegen and während, and von + dative in speech.
What it does
The genitive shows that something belongs to someone or something, like English “of” or “'s”: (the name of the company), (my brother's car). With names, you just add -s (no apostrophe): .
Articles and endings
Masculine and neuter nouns take / , and the noun itself adds -s, or -es after many one-syllable words and after -s, -ß, -z: , , . Feminine and plural nouns take , and the noun doesn't change. , , , and so on take the same endings as .
| Article | masculine | feminine | neuter | plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| definite | ||||
| indefinite | – | |||
| possessive |
Prepositions with the genitive
A few prepositions take the genitive, especially in writing: (during), (because of), (within), (despite). In everyday speech you'll often hear and with the dative instead.
- Während der Ausbildung ist das Konto kostenlos.During the apprenticeship the account is free.
- Wegen des Regens sind wir zu Hause geblieben.We stayed at home because of the rain.
- Die Karte kommt innerhalb einer Woche.The card will arrive within a week.
Genitive or von?
The genitive is typical of written and formal German. In conversation, people often use + dative: , . Both are correct; in forms, letters and the news you'll see the genitive. Some time phrases are common in speech too: , .