Breakdown of Ist das mein Topf? Nein, das ist deiner.
sein
to be
nein
no
mein
my
deiner
yours (informal singular) [pronoun, also: deins, deine]
der Topf
the pot
Questions & Answers about Ist das mein Topf? Nein, das ist deiner.
Why does the second sentence use deiner instead of just dein?
Because it means 'yours' rather than 'your'. When a possessive word stands alone and replaces a noun entirely, it takes a specific ending to show the gender and case of the missing noun. Since it replaces dein Topf (masculine, nominative), it gets the -er ending to become deiner.
Why does deiner have an -er ending, but mein has no ending?
mein comes right before the noun Topf, acting as a determiner (meaning 'my'). In the masculine nominative case, these possessive words have no extra ending. But deiner is a pronoun standing in place of the noun, so it must carry the -er ending to show that the hidden word is masculine.
Why is it deiner (nominative) instead of deinen (accusative)?
Because of the verb ist (from sein / to be). This verb acts like an equals sign connecting two things, rather than an action being done to an object. Therefore, both the subject and the replaced noun stay in the nominative case.
If Topf is masculine, why does the sentence start with the neutral das?
When pointing to something in general to ask 'Is that...?' or say 'That is...', German always uses the fixed, neutral word das. You only need to match the masculine gender for the words directly describing or replacing the pot, like mein and deiner.
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