Breakdown of Anhand der Farbe erkenne ich ein Gefäß tödlichen Giftes.
ich
I
ein
a, an (eine)
die Farbe
the color
erkennen
to recognize / to realize
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
tödlich
deadly
anhand
on the basis of / by means of
das Gefäß
the vessel
das Gift
the poison
Questions & Answers about Anhand der Farbe erkenne ich ein Gefäß tödlichen Giftes.
Why use the genitive tödlichen Giftes here instead of the partitive apposition ein Gefäß tödliches Gift?
You can actually use either! The apposition ein Gefäß tödliches Gift (where the material simply mirrors the accusative case of the container) is very common and grammatically correct. However, using the Partitive Genitive (ein Gefäß tödlichen Giftes) creates a highly formal, literary, or dramatic tone—which fits perfectly when talking about a vessel of deadly poison.
Since there is no article before the material, shouldn't the strong adjective ending be -es instead of -en?
You would expect that, but this is a notorious exception! Normally, an adjective without an article takes the strong ending. However, for masculine and neuter nouns in the genitive, because the noun itself already takes an -s or -es ending (like Giftes), the adjective takes the weak -en ending instead to avoid repeating the "s" sound. Thus, it is tödlichen Giftes, never tödliches Giftes.
In everyday speech, would people actually use the Partitive Genitive like this?
Rarely. In spoken German, the Partitive Genitive sounds quite archaic or overly dramatic. Instead of ein Gefäß tödlichen Giftes, a native speaker in a normal conversation would usually use the preposition mit + dative (ein Gefäß mit tödlichem Gift) or the standard apposition (ein Gefäß tödliches Gift).
What case is der Farbe, and what triggers it?
It is in the genitive case. The preposition anhand (meaning "based on" or "by means of") always requires the genitive. Because Farbe is a feminine noun, its article changes to der.
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