Genitive of two and three (zweier, dreier)

The Genitive of "Zwei" and "Drei"

In German, numbers usually don't change their endings. However, when zwei (two) and drei (three) are used in the genitive case without a preceding article or determiner (like der or keine) to show the case, they take the genitive ending -er.

  • zwei becomes zweier (of two)
  • drei becomes dreier (of three)

This ending clearly marks possession when no article is present to do the job.

The merger of two companies is complicated, which does not surprise me.
Die Fusion zweier Unternehmen ist kompliziert, was mich nicht überrascht.
The takeover of two competitors was extremely expensive.
Die Übernahme zweier Konkurrenten war extrem teuer.

This works exactly the same way for dreier:

We should examine the merger of three corporations closely.
Wir sollten die Fusion dreier Konzerne genau prüfen.
We would have to compare the market share of three brands.
Wir müssten den Marktanteil dreier Marken vergleichen.

These forms are highly useful in business terminology to describe relationships and shared assets, such as a joint venture (das Gemeinschaftsunternehmen) or departmental synergies.

The joint venture of two companies will be very successful.
Das Gemeinschaftsunternehmen zweier Firmen wird sehr erfolgreich sein.
The board praises the synergy of two departments.
Der Vorstand lobt die Synergie zweier Abteilungen.
The supervisory board is discussing the merger of two corporations.
Der Aufsichtsrat diskutiert die Fusion zweier Konzerne.
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