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### Claiming what is yours

Just as in English you say "mine" instead of "my coffee," you can drop the noun in German and use a standalone possessive pronoun. When a possessive pronoun replaces a noun, it takes an ending that matches the gender and case of the noun being replaced.

### Masculine nouns

When replacing a masculine noun in the nominative case (such as when it is the subject or follows the verb *sein*), add **-er** to the possessive root (**meiner**, **deiner**, **seiner**, **unserer**).

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### Neuter nouns

For neuter nouns, add **-s** to the possessive root (**meins**, **deins**, **seins**, **unseres**). Notice that standalone neuter pronouns take this ending, whereas the standard possessive articles placed directly in front of nouns do not (*mein Handtuch* vs. *meins*).

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### Feminine nouns

For feminine nouns, the standalone pronoun ends in **-e** (**meine**, **deine**, **seine**, **unsere**). These forms look exactly like the standard possessive articles you already know.

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### Summary table

Here is a quick overview of the standalone possessive pronouns in the nominative case:

| Pronoun | Masculine (-er) | Feminine (-e) | Neuter (-s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| **ich** | meiner | meine | meins |
| **du** | deiner | deine | deins |
| **er / es** | seiner | seine | seins |
| **wir** | unserer | unsere | unseres |

### Life in a flatshare

Standalone possessive pronouns are especially useful when resolving disputes in a flatshare, where sharing spaces means things are easily mixed up!

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Possessive pronouns (meiner, meins, meine)

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
mine [pronoun, also: meins, meine]	meiner
That is not your coffee, that is mine.	Das ist nicht dein Kaffee, das ist meiner.
Where is my towel? I cannot find mine.	Wo ist mein Handtuch? Ich finde meins nicht.
yours (informal singular) [pronoun, also: deins, deine]	deiner
Do you have my cup? I believe that I have yours.	Hast du meine Tasse? Ich glaube, dass ich deine habe.
Your sweater is lying on the sofa, this one here is mine.	Dein Pullover liegt auf dem Sofa, dieser hier ist meiner.
his [pronoun, also: seins, seine]	seiner
Does the key belong to Peter? Yes, that is his.	Gehört der Schlüssel Peter? Ja, das ist seiner.
My room is small, but his is much bigger.	Mein Zimmer ist klein, aber seins ist viel größer.
ours [pronoun, also: unseres, unsere]	unserer
Does the TV belong to you guys? Yes, that is ours.	Gehört der Fernseher euch? Ja, das ist unserer.
This balcony is very beautiful, but ours is quieter.	Dieser Balkon ist sehr schön, aber unserer ist ruhiger.
the flatshare	die Wohngemeinschaft
We live together in a flatshare.	Wir wohnen zusammen in einer Wohngemeinschaft.
Life in the flatshare is fun.	Das Leben in der Wohngemeinschaft macht Spaß.
the flatmate	der Mitbewohner
My flatmate drinks my milk to save money.	Mein Mitbewohner trinkt meine Milch, um Geld zu sparen.
I argue with my flatmate about the rubbish.	Ich streite mit meinem Mitbewohner über den Müll.
to share	teilen
We share the bathroom and the kitchen.	Wir teilen uns das Bad und die Küche.
I believe that we must share the cake.	Ich glaube, dass wir den Kuchen teilen müssen.
to mix up / to confuse	verwechseln
Sorry, I often mix up our jackets.	Entschuldigung, ich verwechsle oft unsere Jacken.
You are mixing up the cell phones, this one here is mine.	Du verwechselst die Handys, das hier ist meins.
the pot	der Topf
Who is cooking today? My pot is already on the stove.	Wer kocht heute? Mein Topf steht schon auf dem Herd.
Is that my pot? No, that is yours.	Ist das mein Topf? Nein, das ist deiner.
the shampoo	das Shampoo
Someone is always taking my shampoo in the bathroom!	Jemand nimmt immer mein Shampoo im Bad!
I need your mirror to put on makeup.	Ich brauche deinen Spiegel, um mich zu schminken.
Are you confusing the shampoo? It is mine.	Verwechselst du das Shampoo? Es ist meins.

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