Welcome back to the engaging and insightful Learn German with LearnningTree series.
After exploring the dative in German grammar in our last blog post and learning its significance and application in forming sentences, we now turn our attention to the genitive case. This essential element of the German language also holds great importance.
LIST OF CONTENTS
Genitive Case
The genitive case expresses possession or relationship between nouns. In English, it often uses an apostrophe (e.g., "the dog's food"). German language has specific endings or forms to indicate the genitive.
Let's take a look at some examples:
Colloquially, you can say: | But this sounds more elegant: |
Die Katze von Anke. | Ankes Katze. |
Der Computer von Max. | Max' Computer. |
Die Bücher von Andreas. | Andreas' Bücher. |
If the name ends in -x, -s, or -z we simply add an apostrophe and no -s.
When to use -s in German?
Unlike English, you can only use -s or an apostrophe with proper names. In German, the genitive case indicates possession, and its formation differs from English. With common nouns, like "Vater" (father), you typically use "des" to form the genitive:
"Das Haus des Vaters" translates to "The father's house."
This structure uses the article "des" and the noun in the genitive form.
However, with proper names, you can express possession using an apostrophe or "-s," as in "Ankes Katze." This flexibility doesn't apply to common nouns, where you always need the genitive structure with "des" for clarity and grammatical correctness.
Genitive Definite articles
It is necessary for us to modify the articles in order to indicate possession.
Genitive definite articles | |
der → (masculine) | Das Auto des Vaters. The car of the father. |
das → (neuter) | Das Fahrrad des Kindes. The bike of the child. |
die → (feminine) | Die Regeln der Schule. The rules of the school. |
die → (plural) | Die Bücher der Kinder. The books of the children. |
You can also replace the genitive with "von," but since "von" is a dative preposition, it requires dative articles:
"Das Auto vom Vater" (equivalent to "von dem Vater")
"Das Fahrrad vom Kind" (equivalent to "von dem Kind")
"Die Regeln von der Schule"
"Die Bücher von den Kindern"
This substitution is common in spoken German. However, in writing, the genitive form is often preferred for its elegance, though both constructions are grammatically correct.
Common Expressions using the Genitive
There are some common expressions that use the genitive. You'll see these every once in a while in everyday life.
1.The world's most beautiful place. → Der schönste Ort der Welt.
Remember that Welt is not a proper name, so you cannot use the apostrophe here
2.This is the house of my dreams! → Das ist das Haus meiner Träume!
3.The best holiday of your life! → Der beste Urlaub deines Lebens!
4."Album of the Year" goes to... → "Album des Jahres" geht an...
5.Someday we will visit Munich. → Eines Tages werden wir München besuchen.
Eines Tages is often used in stories and fairy tales, just like once upon a time.
"weil" and "denn"
The best known way of justifying or explaining things in German is using the conjunction weil. Loosely translated, this translates as “because”. But there are a couple of other words that can be used as alternatives to weil.
Ich bin glücklich, weil das Wetter schön ist.
I am happy because the weather is nice.
Another way of revealing the reason why things happen is to use the conjunction denn. The only difference between weil and denn is the structure of the subordinate clause of the sentence that gives us the reason.
Ich bin glücklich, denn das Wetter ist schön.
I am happy because the weather is nice.
Notice how the verb is moved to the end of the sentence with weil, but remains in the second position of the subordinate clause with denn.
But that’s not all! There are other ways of doing this as well. Two of these are using the Genitive and wegen and dank.
Wegen/Dank des schönen Wetters, bin ich glücklich.
Due to/thanks to the nice weather, I am happy.
It is important to note that the Genitive is rarely used in everyday speech and replaced with the Dative instead. Remember to ALWAYS use the genitive in writing though!
"wegen" and "dank"
The main difference between these two alternatives for weil is the nature of the explanation given.
Wegen is used to explain a neutral motive, ie it doesn’t value it as being something positive or negative.
Dank on the other hand has a positive connotation - the motive is assumed to be something that is good.
Examples:
Wegen des schlechten Wetters wurde die Feier verschoben.
(In writing)
The party was postponed due to the bad weather.
Wegen seinem Husten ist er nicht zur Arbeit gekommen.
(In everyday speech)
He didn't come to work due to his cough.
Dank seiner Hilfe hat sie den Job bekommen.
(In writing)
She got the job thanks to his help.
Dank dir konnte ich mich vor der Prüfung beruhigen.
(In everyday speech)
I could calm down before the exam thanks to you.
Prepositions “infolge” and “aufgrund”
Both "infolge" and "aufgrund" are prepositions in German that convey a sense of causation or reason, similar to "due to" or "as a result of" in English.
Die Grillparty wurde verschoben, weil das Wetter schlecht ist.
(The barbecue was postponed because the weather is bad.)
The above sentence could be reformulated as follows.
Aufgrund des schlechten Wetters, wurde die Grillparty verschoben.
(Because of the bad weather, the barbecue was postponed. )
Infolge des schlechten Wetters, wurde die Grillparty verschoben.
(As a consequence of the bad weather, the barbecue was postponed.)
However, infolge and aufgrund are a bit more formal, so it is unusual to hear them in everyday speech. You might find them in writing though!
The prepositions infolge and aufgrund are always in the genitive.
They are almost synonymous, but you can't always use infolge where you might use aufgrund!
There is on small difference in their meanings:
Infolge (→ Folge) emphasizes the connection between two different things when one is a consequence (hint: it follows) the other one.
Aufgrund (→ Grund) on the other hand, highlights the thing or person that caused the situation.
The genitive case is important to remember and learn in German because it plays a crucial role in indicating possession and relationships between nouns, enhancing clarity and precision in communication. Mastery of the genitive allows learners to construct more sophisticated sentences, moving beyond basic phrases to express nuanced ideas. It also enriches written language, particularly in formal contexts where the genitive is preferred for its elegance. Additionally, understanding the genitive helps in comprehending literary texts, legal documents, and academic writing, where its usage is more prevalent. Overall, a solid grasp of the genitive case is essential for achieving fluency and a deeper understanding of the German language.
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