Recognising the genitive case in German

• The genitive case is used to show possession.
• In English, an apostrophe is used to indicate what belongs to someone. In German, the genitive case is used.
• The genitive case is also used after certain prepositions.
• As well as changing the articles, masculine and neuter nouns also add an -s or -es on the end.

The genitive case is used to show who something belongs to.

For example, another way of saying the shop’s manager is the manager of the shop.

This last phrase 'of the shop' is the genitive case. In German this would be der Manager (nominative) des Geschäfts (genitive).

Certain prepositions take the genitive case after them. These include:

• (an)stattinstead of
• trotzdespite
• währendduring
• innerhalbinside of
• außerhalboutside of
• wegenbecause of

Tips for spotting the genitive case

• -s or -es at the end of a noun is a good clue that it might be the genitive.
• When the sentence reveals belonging.
• After certain prepositions, for example: trotz, innerhalb and wegen.

Identify the genitive phrase (preposition + article + noun) in these sentences:

Complete this multiple-choice quiz to check your understanding of the genitive case.