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Lesson 63 of 69 · B1, Unit 3: Advanced grammar

The genitive

The genitive shows possession: das Auto des Mannes (the man's car), die Farbe der Tür (the colour of the door). Masculine and neuter articles become des, and the noun adds -s or -es. Feminine and plural become der, with no change to the noun.

In everyday speech, Germans often replace the genitive with von + dative: das Auto von meinem Bruder. But you'll need the genitive to read the news, and with a few prepositions: wegen, trotz, während, statt.

By the end you can:

  • form the genitive of masculine, feminine, neuter, and plural nouns
  • use the genitive prepositions wegen, trotz, während, and statt
  • use names with -s for possession

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