Genitiv

The Genitiv is a grammatical case that indicates ownership or belonging. This is what it looks like:

Das Auto meines Vaters ← Maskulin/neutral (My father's car)

Das Handy der Frau ← Feminin/Plural (The woman's phone)

Masculine and neuter nouns receive a -s ending in Genitiv

Example:

das Auto → des Autos
Masculine and neuter nouns ending in -s, -z, -ß ,and -x receive an -es ending

Example:

der Satz → des Satzes

der Kurs → des Kurses
Masculine and neuter monosyllabic nouns and most words ending in 2 or more consonants also receive en -es ending:

Examples:

das Jahr → des Jahres

das Gelenk → des Gelenkes

*In this case you can also use only an -s ending but only in informal situations
Some masculine nouns receive an -n/en ending:

Examples:

der Name → des Namen

der Zeuge → des Zeugen

der Junge → des Jungen

Lately, the Genitiv has lost some of its importance in the German language, mostly because it can be replaced by the Dativ. Example:

Das Spielzeug des Kindes → Das Spielzeug von dem Kind. (The kid's toy)

But the Genitiv is still used quite often in these situations:

With prepositions like während, anstelle, trotz, wegen, innerhalb
Example:
Trotz des Wetters fährt er nach Berlin.
With verbs like beschuldigen, bezichtigen,verdächtigen
Example:
Der Mann wird der Tat beschuldigt.
With adjectives like bedürftig, fähig, überdrüssig, verdächtig, würdig
Example:
Klaus ist seiner Arbeit überdrüssig.

The German Genitiv for names is very simple. It's just like the possessive form of the English language, but without the apostrophe. Examples:

Das Haus von Theo → Theos Haus (Theo's house)

Die Stimme von Sara → Saras Stimme (Sara's voice)

When a noun already ends in -s , or a similar sounding ending (like an -X), an apostrophe is added. Example:

Lars’ Jacke ist blau (Lars’ Jacket ist blue)

Solve the exercises to master the Genitiv!