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### Adjectives governing the Genitive

In German, a select group of adjectives requires an object in the **Genitive** case. These adjectives typically express abstract states like guilt, worthiness, or weariness, and are very common when discussing ethics and morality.

When using these adjectives, the Genitive object typically comes immediately *before* the adjective.

For example, to express that someone is guilty of an offense, use **schuldig**:

{{item:883551}}

Similarly, to say something is worthy (or unworthy) of a standard or award, use **würdig**:

{{item:883548}}

### Being aware: *sich bewusst sein*

The adjective **bewusst** (aware) is unique because it also requires a reflexive pronoun in the **Dative** case (*mir*, *dir*, *sich*, *uns*, *euch*, *sich*).

Notice how the Dative pronoun pairs with the Genitive object (*meiner Schuld*, *der Situation*):

{{item:883545}}

{{item:883555}}

### Expressing weariness: *überdrüssig*

When you are completely sick, tired, or weary of an ongoing situation, you can use the highly expressive adjective **überdrüssig**. Just like *schuldig* and *würdig*, the source of your weariness takes the Genitive case.

{{item:883559}}

As a quick reminder for Genitive endings: feminine and plural nouns change their articles to *der* (with no ending added to the noun), while masculine and neuter nouns change their articles to *des* and add an *-s* or *-es* to the noun.

{{item:883564}}

Adjectives governing the Genitive (bewusst, würdig)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
aware	bewusst
I am completely aware of my guilt.	Ich bin mir meiner Schuld völlig bewusst.
the principle	das Prinzip
worthy	würdig
This behavior is not worthy of our principles.	Dieses Verhalten ist unserer Prinzipien nicht würdig.
guilty	schuldig
the consequence	die Konsequenz
He is guilty of the burglary and must bear the consequences.	Er ist des Einbruchs schuldig und muss die Konsequenzen tragen.
weary	überdrüssig
Despite the great success, I am weary of the stress.	Trotz des großen Erfolgs bin ich des Stresses überdrüssig.
moral	moralisch
Either you are aware of the situation, or you are not acting morally.	Entweder bist du dir der Situation bewusst, oder du handelst nicht moralisch.
Is anyone really worthy of this award?	Ist irgendwer dieser Auszeichnung wirklich würdig?
the conscience	das Gewissen
The man is guilty of the betrayal and has a bad conscience.	Der Mann ist des Verrats schuldig und hat ein schlechtes Gewissen.
I am weary of the constant arguments.	Ich bin des ständigen Streits überdrüssig.
the remorse	die Reue
Genuine remorse is a sign of moral strength.	Echte Reue ist ein Zeichen für moralische Stärke.
the morality	die Moral
Such principles are important for our morality.	Solche Prinzipien sind wichtig für unsere Moral.
We are completely weary of the long conversations.	Wir sind der langen Gespräche völlig überdrüssig.
They are aware of the deed, but they do not feel guilty.	Sie sind sich der Tat bewusst, aber sie fühlen sich nicht schuldig.
He is aware of the consequence and has a bad conscience.	Er ist sich der Konsequenz bewusst und hat ein schlechtes Gewissen.
The judge is weary of the false morality and demands remorse.	Der Richter ist der falschen Moral überdrüssig und fordert Reue.
reasonable, sensible	vernünftig
That was a sensible decision.	Das war eine vernünftige Entscheidung.
Please be sensible and drive more slowly.	Sei bitte vernünftig und fahr langsamer.

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