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German Possessive Adjectives (Possessive Adjektive)

Possessive adjectives, also known as possessive determiners, indicate ownership or association. In both German and English, possessive adjectives are an essential part of the everyday language. This lesson will guide you through the use of possessive adjectives in German.

Understanding Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns in German

Before diving into the German possessive adjectives, it’s important to understand the difference between possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns.

Possessive Adjectives: These are used with a noun to show that one person or thing belongs to another. They describe and modify the preceding noun, indicating ownership. For example, in the sentence “Das ist mein Auto” (This is my car), “mein” is the possessive adjective modifying “Auto” (car).

Possessive Pronouns: These replace a noun or a noun phrase to avoid repetition and indicate ownership. For example, in the sentence “Das ist meins” (This is mine), “meins” is the possessive pronoun replacing “das Auto” (the car).

  • Possessive Adjectives
    • Das ist mein Auto.
    • This is my car.
  • Possessive Pronouns
    • Das ist meins. (das Auto)
    • This is mine.

❗ Remember, possessive adjectives are used before a noun (e.g., my book), while possessive pronouns replace nouns (e.g., the book is mine).

German Possessive Adjectives

German possessive adjectives change their form based on the case and gender of the noun they modify. There are four cases in German: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. Each case has a different set of endings for possessive adjectives. Let’s start by examining the nominative case.

The base form of German possessive adjectives in the nominative case can be seen in Table 1.1:

🇺🇸MasculineFeminineNeuterPlural
my mein meine mein meine
your dein deine dein deine
his sein seine sein seine
her ihr ihre ihr ihre
its sein seine sein seine
our unser unsere unser unsere
your euer eure euer eure
their ihr ihre ihr ihre
Your Ihr Ihre Ihr Ihre
Table 1.1 – Possessive Adjectives in German

❗ Note: Always capitalize the formal ‘You/Your’ (Sie/Ihr) and change ‘euer’ to ‘eure’ before a plural noun.

🇩🇪 Mein Vater ist Arzt.
🇺🇸 My father is a doctor.
🇩🇪 Dein Bruder spielt Fußball.
🇺🇸 Your brother plays football.
🇩🇪 Sein Haus ist groß.
🇺🇸 His house is big.
🇩🇪 Ihre Schwester ist schön.
🇺🇸 Her sister is beautiful.
🇩🇪 Unser Garten ist schön.
🇺🇸 Our garden is beautiful.
🇩🇪 Euer Hund ist laut.
🇺🇸 Your dog is loud.
🇩🇪 Ihr Buch ist interessant.
🇺🇸 Their book is interesting.
🇩🇪 Ihr Lehrer ist streng.
🇺🇸 Your (formal) teacher is strict.

German Possessive Adjectives in All Case

In German, the form of a possessive adjective changes according to the case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive) and gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) of the noun it modifies. This is different from English, where possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) remain the same regardless of the case or gender of the noun.

The table below (Table 1.2) shows the possessive adjectives in all four cases:

Cases🇺🇸MasculineFeminineNeuterPlural
Nominativemy
your
his
her
its
our
your
their
Your
mein
dein
sein
ihr
sein
unser
euer
ihr
Ihr
meine
deine
seine
ihre
seine
unsere
eure
ihre
Ihre
mein
dein
sein
ihr
sein
unser
euer
ihr
Ihr
meine
deine
seine
ihre
seine
unsere
eure
ihre
Ihre
Accusativemy
your
his
her
its
our
your
their
Your
meinen
deinen
seinen
ihren
seinen
unseren
eueren
ihren
Ihren
meine
deine
seine
ihre
seine
unsere
eure
ihre
Ihre
mein
dein
sein
ihr
sein
unser
euer
ihr
Ihr
meine
deine
seine
ihre
seine
unsere
eure
ihre
Ihre
Dativemy
your
his
her
its
our
your
their
Your
meinem
deinem
seinem
ihrem
seinem
unserem
euerem
ihrem
Ihrem
meiner
deiner
seiner
ihrer
seiner
unserer
eurer
ihrer
Ihrer
meinem
deinem
seinem
ihrem
seinem
unserem
euerem
ihrem
Ihrem
meinen
deinen
seinen
ihren
seinen
unseren
euren
ihren
Ihren
Genitivemy
your
his
her
its
our
your
their
Your
meines
deines
seines
ihres
seines
unseres
eueres
ihres
Ihres
meiner
deiner
seiner
ihrer
seiner
unserer
eurer
ihrer
Ihrer
meines
deines
seines
ihres
seines
unseres
eures
ihres
Ihres
meiner
deiner
seiner
ihrer
seiner
unserer
eurer
ihrer
Ihrer
Table 1.2

❗ Note that “euer” has a slightly irregular declension:

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