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### The genitive case for possession

To show possession or a direct relationship between two nouns, German uses the **genitive case**. It translates nicely to using an apostrophe-s ("the judge's verdict") or the word "of" ("the verdict of the judge") in English. 

Legal matters and property rights provide great examples of the genitive in action, as we frequently talk about the owner of a car or the verdict of a court.

### Masculine and neuter nouns in the genitive

For masculine and neuter nouns, the definite article changes to **des**.

Unlike other cases you have learned so far, the genitive case often changes the noun itself! When a masculine or neuter noun is in the genitive case, you must add an **-s** to the end of the noun.

Notice the article **des** and the **-s** ending on the masculine noun *Richter* and the neuter noun *Gericht*:

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### The -es noun ending

If a masculine or neuter noun has only one syllable (like *Kind* or *Dieb*), or if it ends in an *s*-sound (like *Prozess*), adding a simple *-s* makes it too hard to pronounce. 

In these cases, you add **-es** to the end of the noun instead:

{{item:870787}}

{{item:870797}}

### Feminine and plural nouns in the genitive

Feminine nouns (and plural nouns) are simpler. To make them genitive, the definite article simply changes to **der**.

Importantly, feminine and plural nouns **do not** get an extra *-s* or *-es* ending on the noun itself. Only masculine and neuter nouns change their endings.

{{item:870795}}

{{item:870796}}

The genitive case with definite articles (des, der)

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
the judge	der Richter
the lawyer	der Anwalt
The judge's name is important for the lawyer.	Der Name des Richters ist wichtig für den Anwalt.
the verdict	das Urteil
We read the judge's verdict aloud.	Wir lesen das Urteil des Richters vor.
the court	das Gericht
The thief's lawyer is coming out of the court.	Der Anwalt des Diebes kommt aus dem Gericht.
Is the court's verdict correct?	Ist das Urteil des Gerichts richtig?
the trial	der Prozess
After the trial, the perpetrator's lawyer drives home.	Nach dem Prozess fährt der Anwalt des Täters nach Hause.
The end of the trial is exciting.	Das Ende des Prozesses ist spannend.
the law	das Gesetz
the property	das Eigentum
the owner	der Besitzer
The law protects the owner's property.	Das Gesetz schützt das Eigentum des Besitzers.
Who is the owner of the car?	Wer ist der Besitzer des Autos?
to prove	beweisen
Nobody can prove the owner's mistake.	Niemand kann den Fehler des Besitzers beweisen.
The witness describes the woman's car.	Der Zeuge beschreibt das Auto der Frau.
Do you understand the company's contract?	Verstehen Sie den Vertrag der Firma?
Who has the child's money?	Wer hat das Geld des Kindes?
the right	das Recht
The lawyer proves the right of the owner.	Der Anwalt beweist das Recht des Besitzers.
The law protects the property and the right of the woman.	Das Gesetz schützt das Eigentum und das Recht der Frau.
because of	wegen
Because of the weather we are staying at home.	Wegen des Wetters bleiben wir zu Hause.
He is coming because of work.	Er kommt wegen der Arbeit.

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