German Topic
Frequently asked questions: Genitive Case in German.
The Genitive case in German denotes possession or a relationship between nouns. It can be thought of as the equivalent of adding 's or "of" to a noun in English. It is an important case for expressing ownership and is also used with some prepositions and certain verb idioms.
For example - "Das ist die Tasche ihrer Freundin."
The genitive case form of the possessive pronoun 'ihr' (her) corresponding to a feminine noun is 'ihrer'. In the sentence 'Das ist die Tasche ihrer Freundin', 'ihrer' is used to show possession, indicating that the friend is the owner of the bag. 'Ihr' changes to 'ihrer' in the genitive case to express this possession. Fun fact - if it was 'Ihrer' (with the first letter capitalized) then it would mean 'your' (format) not 'her'!
For example - "Der Hund meines Nachbarn ist sehr freundlich"
The genitive case form of the possessive pronoun 'mein' (my) corresponding to a masculine or neuter noun is 'meines'. In the sentence 'Der Hund meines Nachbarn ist sehr freundlich', 'meines' is used to show possession, indicating that the neighbor is the owner of the dog. 'Mein' changes to 'meines' in the genitive case to express this possession.
For example - "Das ist das Haus meiner Schwester."
The genitive case form of the possessive pronoun 'mein' (my) corresponding to a feminine noun is 'meiner'. In the sentence, "Das ist das Haus meiner Schwester," the word 'meiner' is showcasing possession, translating to 'That is the house of my sister' in English.
For example - "Die Katze seiner Schwester ist süß."
The genitive case form of the possessive adjective 'sein' corresponding to a feminine noun is 'seiner'. In the sentence 'Die Katze seiner Schwester ist süß', 'seiner' is used to show possession, indicating that the sister is the owner of the cat. The noun 'Schwester' is feminine and singular; therefore, 'sein' takes the form 'seiner' to match the gender, number, and case of the noun it modifies.
For example - "Das Auto der freundlichen Dame ist blau."
The correct form of the definite article for feminine nouns in the genitive case is "der". The sentence is indicating possession and thus, it needs to use the genitive case. The complete sentence is: "Das Auto der freundlichen Dame ist blau", which translates to "The friendly lady's car is blue"
For example - "Die Katze der Nachbarin ist sehr süß."
The correct definite article for feminine nouns in the genitive case is "der". So, the sentence should be "Die Katze der Nachbarin ist sehr süß", which translates to "The neighbor's cat is very cute" in English. Note that "die Nachbarin" is the feminine form of the noun "der Nachbar", which is why we use the feminine definite article. This becomes "der Nachbarin" in the genitive case.
For example - "Die Farbe des Hauses ist rot."
The correct definite article for neuter nouns in the genitive case is "des." Hence, the sentence should be "Die Farbe des Hauses ist rot," which means "The color of the house is red" in English.
For example - "Die Blätter des Baumes sind grün."
The appropriate definite article for masculine nouns in the genitive case is "des." Therefore, the sentence should be "Die Blätter des Baumes sind grün," which translates to "The leaves of the tree are green" in English.
For example - "Die Schönheit einer Stadt ist atemberaubend"
The correct indefinite article for feminine nouns in the genitive case is "einer." Thus, the sentence should be "Die Schönheit einer Stadt ist atemberaubend," which translates to "The beauty of a city is breathtaking" in English.
For example - "Das Haus des Kindes ist groß"
The genitive case is used for possession. The correct definite article for neuter nouns in the genitive case is "des." Thus, the sentence should be "Das Haus des Kindes ist groß", which translates to "The child's house is big" in English.
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