Die Farbe des Sonnenschirms passt gut zum Garten.

The colour of the sunshade suits the garden well.

Breakdown of Die Farbe des Sonnenschirms passt gut zum Garten.

• der Garten: the garden
• gut: well
• der Sonnenschirm: the sunshade
• die Farbe: the colour

Questions & Answers about Die Farbe des Sonnenschirms passt gut zum Garten.

Why is des Sonnenschirms in the genitive case?

des Sonnenschirms shows possession or belonging (“the color of the sunshade”). In German, the genitive case often replaces English “of the…”. Here:

• des is the masculine/neuter singular genitive definite article (from der/​das).
• Sonnenschirm is masculine, so its genitive ending is -s: Sonnenschirm → Sonnenschirms.

Could I instead say die Farbe von dem Sonnenschirm?

Yes, you can. German speakers sometimes avoid the genitive by using von + dative:

• die Farbe von dem Sonnenschirm passt…
  This is perfectly understandable, but slightly more colloquial. You could even contract von dem to vom: die Farbe vom Sonnenschirm passt…

What is the gender and plural form of der Sonnenschirm?

• der Sonnenschirm is a masculine noun (gender: der).
• Its plural is die Sonnenschirme (add -e, umlaut on i is not needed).

How does the compound noun Sonnenschirm work?