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Possessivpronomen


learning target


Aim of this section is to learn the possessive pronous and their use in the four cases.

German

English

Meine Freundin heißt Catherine Pacana.
Kennst du seinen Namen?
Ich schicke deiner Schwester eine Nachricht.

My girlfriend is called Catherine Pacana.
Do you know his name?
I send a message to your sister.



rules


The meaning of the possessive pronouns

The meaning of the possessive pronouns can be explained with one little table:

person

numerus

gender

1st person

singular

-

2nd person

singular

-

3rd person

singular

male

3rd person

singular

female

3rd person

singular

neuter

1st person

plural

-

2nd person

plural

-

3rd person

plural

-

2nd person (formal)

singular / plural

-

German

English

mein

my

dein

your

sein

his

ihr

her

sein

its

unser

our

euer

your

ihr

their

Ihr

your



The problem - endings

The real problem are once again the endings.
They depend on the gender, numerus and case of the noun.
To choose the correct ending you need exactly the same rules which we already used in Adjektivendungen.


example 1:

Mein Freund heißt Tom. (My boyfriend is called Tom.)

If you look for singular, male, nominative you'll find no ending. So it must be "Mein Freund".


example 2:

Ich besuche meinen Freund. (I visit my boyfriend.)

If you look for singular, male, accusative you'll find the ending "en". So it must be "meinen Freund".


example 3:

Ich schicke meinem Freund einen Brief. (I send a letter to my boyfriend.)

If you look for singular, male, dative you'll find the ending "em". So it must be "meinem Freund".



tables


"declension" of the possessive pronoun: mein (=my)

case

singular

plural

male

female

neuter

-

nominative

mein Mann

meine Frau

mein Kind

meine Kinder

genitive

meines Mannes

meiner Frau

meines Kindes

meiner Kinder

dative

meinem Mann

meiner Frau

meinem Kind

meinen Kindern

accusative

meinen Mann

meine Frau

mein Kind

meine Kinder

 

"declension" of the possessive pronoun: dein (=your, singular)

case

singular

plural

male

female

neuter

-

nominative

dein Mann

deine Frau

dein Kind

deine Kinder

genitive

deines Mannes

deiner Frau

deines Kindes

deiner Kinder

dative

deinem Mann

deiner Frau

deinem Kind

deinen Kindern

accusative

deinen Mann

deine Frau

dein Kind

deine Kinder

 

"declension" of the possessive pronoun: sein (=his, its)

case

singular

plural

male

female

neuter

-

nominative

sein Mann

seine Frau

sein Kind

seine Kinder

genitive

seines Mannes

seiner Frau

seines Kindes

seiner Kinder

dative

seinem Mann

seiner Frau

seinem Kind

seinen Kindern

accusative

seinen Mann

seine Frau

sein Kind

seine Kinder

 

"declension" of the possessive pronoun: ihr (=her, their)

case

singular

plural

male

female

neuter

-

nominative

ihr Mann

ihre Frau

ihr Kind

ihre Kinder

genitive

ihres Mannes

ihrer Frau

ihres Kindes

ihrer Kinder

dative

ihrem Mann

ihrer Frau

ihrem Kind

ihren Kindern

accusative

ihren Mann

ihre Frau

ihr Kind

ihre Kinder

 

"declension" of the possessive pronoun: unser (=our)

case

singular

plural

male

female

neuter

-

nominative

unser Vater

unsere Mutter

unser Kind

unsere Kinder

genitive

unseres Vaters

unserer Mutter

unseres Kindes

unserer Kinder

dative

unserem Vater

unserer Mutter

unserem Kind

unseren Kindern

accusative

unseren Vater

unsere Mutter

unser Kind

unsere Kinder

 

"declension" of the possessive pronoun: euer (=your, plural)

case

singular

plural

male

female

neuter

-

nominative

euer Vater

eure Mutter*

euer Kind

eure Kinder*

genitive

eures Vaters*

eurer Mutter*

eures Kindes*

eurer Kinder*

dative

eurem Vater*

eurer Mutter*

eurem Kind*

euren Kindern*

accusative

euren Vater*

eure Mutter*

euer Kind

eure Kinder*


As you can see all the possessive pronouns have got the same endings. So, you have to learn just one and you know all. If you compare it with the "declension" of indifinite articles you will see they also have the same endings. That makes it much easier.
Of course there is an exception. The possessive pronoun "euer" (=your, plural) drops the "e" in the middle (marked with a *) if it has got an ending.



 

exercises


Possessivpronomen 1

 

tom homework

 

Lösung

 

Possessivpronomen 2

 

tom homework

 

Lösung

 


summary - documents for your folder


Possessivpronomen (theory, 4 pages)