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### Possession with S-Sounds

To show possession with names in German, you usually add an **-s** to the end (for example, *Annas Spind*). However, if a proper noun already ends in an s-sound—specifically **-s**, **-ß**, **-x**, or **-z**—adding another "s" would be difficult to pronounce.

Instead, you simply add an **apostrophe (')** to the end of the name.

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This rule applies to names ending in **-x**:

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It also applies to names ending in **-z**:

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### Spoken vs. Written Context

Because the apostrophe is only visible in writing, a possessive name like **Dennis'** sounds exactly the same as the basic name **Dennis** when spoken. You can easily tell it is possessive from the context, usually because it sits directly in front of the noun it owns.

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### Adding Adjectives

If you want to describe the owned item, place the adjective after the possessive name. Because there is no article before the adjective, it takes a **strong adjective ending**.

For example, to describe the neuter noun **das Trikot**, the adjective takes the strong neuter **-es** ending:

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Genitive of names ending in s-sounds (-')

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
Lukas	Lukas
the locker	der Spind
the changing room	die Umkleidekabine
Where is Lukas's locker in the changing room, actually?	Wo ist eigentlich Lukas' Spind in der Umkleidekabine?
Max	Max
the jersey	das Trikot
I am looking for Max's jersey because we have a game soon.	Ich suche Max' Trikot, weil wir gleich ein Spiel haben.
Fritz	Fritz
the shower gel	das Duschgel
Why is Fritz's shower gel lying on the floor?	Warum liegt Fritz' Duschgel auf dem Boden?
Dennis	Dennis
the deodorant	das Deo
to stink	stinken
We need Dennis's deodorant because the changing room totally stinks!	Wir brauchen Dennis' Deo, weil die Umkleidekabine total stinkt!
Max's locker is here, as you know, but it is completely empty.	Hier ist ja Max' Spind, aber er ist völlig leer.
Lukas's jersey stinks because he never washes it.	Lukas' Trikot stinkt, weil er es nie wäscht.
Did you see Fritz's shower gel before you closed the door?	Hast du Fritz' Duschgel gesehen, bevor du die Tür zugemacht hast?
Dennis's deodorant is in the locker because he always tidies up.	Dennis' Deo steht im Spind, weil er immer aufräumt.
Is Fritz's wet jersey here then?	Ist Fritz' nasses Trikot denn hier?
I am opening Dennis's locker before he comes back.	Ich mache Dennis' Spind auf, bevor er zurückkommt.