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Possessive pronouns in the German language
30.07.2024
4 minutes to read
The German language is rich in grammar, and possessive pronouns play a key role in it. They help indicate who owns a particular object, answering the question "whose?". Possessive pronouns agree with nouns in gender, number, and case, which makes speech precise and understandable. In this material, we will take a detailed look at how to use them correctly, what forms exist, and how to properly decline possessive pronouns in German.
Table of contents
Possessive pronouns in German are words that indicate possession. They answer the question "whose?" and either replace a noun or accompany it.
For example: mein Buch — my book, dein Auto — your car.
These pronouns are used to show who owns an object. Their forms depend on the person (I, you, he, etc.) and also change depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun.
It’s important to remember that a possessive pronoun must agree not with the owner, but with the object itself.
That is, if we are talking about "his book", the word "book" is feminine, so we say seine Buch.
This is an important part of grammar, without which it is impossible to build precise and clear sentences.
For example: mein Buch — my book, dein Auto — your car.
These pronouns are used to show who owns an object. Their forms depend on the person (I, you, he, etc.) and also change depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun.
It’s important to remember that a possessive pronoun must agree not with the owner, but with the object itself.
That is, if we are talking about "his book", the word "book" is feminine, so we say seine Buch.
This is an important part of grammar, without which it is impossible to build precise and clear sentences.
What are possessive pronouns in the German language?
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List of possessive pronouns with translation
In German, possessive pronouns depend on who owns the object, and on the gender, number, and case of the object itself.
In the nominative case, they look like this:
meine Bücher, deine Freunde, ihre Kinder.
These forms are the foundation for constructing correct phrases of possession in German.
In the nominative case, they look like this:
- If the speaker talks about themselves, the form mein is used for masculine and neuter singular, and meine for feminine and plural.
- That is: mein Vater — my father, meine Mutter — my mother, meine Freunde — my friends.
- If you are talking to someone directly ("you"), use dein or deine:
- dein Bruder — your brother, deine Schwester — your sister.
- For "he", use sein or seine:
- sein Auto — his car, seine Jacke — his jacket.
- For "she", use ihr or ihre:
- ihr Hund — her dog, ihre Tasche — her bag.
- For "it", use sein or seine, same as with "he".
- If speaking about "we", use unser or unsere:
- unser Haus — our house, unsere Wohnung — our apartment.
- For "you" (plural), use euer or eure:
- euer Lehrer — your teacher, eure Schule — your school.
- For "they", use ihr or ihre:
- ihr Kind — their child, ihre Bücher — their books.
meine Bücher, deine Freunde, ihre Kinder.
These forms are the foundation for constructing correct phrases of possession in German.
Table of Possessive Pronouns by Person
Possessive pronouns in German are often used in everyday speech. Here are a few examples with different persons and genders:
- Das ist mein Hund. — This is my dog.
- Wo ist deine Tasche? — Where is your bag?
- Sein Auto ist neu. — His car is new.
- Ihre Wohnung ist groß. — Her apartment is big.
- Unser Lehrer ist nett. — Our teacher is nice.
- Eure Freunde sind hier. — Your friends are here.
- Ihre Kinder spielen draußen. — Their children are playing outside.
- Ist das Ihr Buch? — Is this your book? (formal)
Examples of Usage in Sentences
Possessive pronouns in German change according to the grammatical case. This is important because the form of the pronoun depends not only on the person but also on the role of the noun in the sentence.
There are four cases in German:
For example, "mein" in the nominative case for masculine becomes "meinen" in the accusative, and "meinem" in the dative.
These changes must be memorized, as they are essential for building grammatically correct sentences. Each gender and case has its own form, so it’s helpful to regularly practice and use declension tab
There are four cases in German:
- Nominative (Nominativ)
- Genitive (Genitiv)
- Dative (Dativ)
- Accusative (Akkusativ)
- Nominative: mein Vater — my father
- Accusative: Ich sehe meinen Vater — I see my father
- Dative: Ich helfe meinem Vater — I help my father
- Genitive: Das ist das Auto meines Vaters — That is my father's car
For example, "mein" in the nominative case for masculine becomes "meinen" in the accusative, and "meinem" in the dative.
These changes must be memorized, as they are essential for building grammatically correct sentences. Each gender and case has its own form, so it’s helpful to regularly practice and use declension tab
Declension of Possessive Pronouns by Case
One of the most common mistakes is choosing the form of the pronoun based on the owner, not the object.
For example, the phrase mein Tasche (my bag) is incorrect because "Tasche" is feminine, so it should be meine Tasche.
The second mistake is forgetting the case.
In the sentence Ich sehe mein Vater (I see my father), the accusative ending is missing — the correct form is meinen Vater.
The third mistake is confusing ihr (her) with Ihr (Your formal).
The capital letter indicates formal address.
To avoid these mistakes, always pay attention to the gender and case of the noun and practice declension tables.
Working with specific examples is the fastest way to reinforce the correct forms.
For example, the phrase mein Tasche (my bag) is incorrect because "Tasche" is feminine, so it should be meine Tasche.
The second mistake is forgetting the case.
In the sentence Ich sehe mein Vater (I see my father), the accusative ending is missing — the correct form is meinen Vater.
The third mistake is confusing ihr (her) with Ihr (Your formal).
The capital letter indicates formal address.
To avoid these mistakes, always pay attention to the gender and case of the noun and practice declension tables.
Working with specific examples is the fastest way to reinforce the correct forms.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
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