Learning the German possessive pronouns can feel like juggling new terms, numbers, German cases, and declensions all at the same time. It’s no wonder so many language learners might freeze up when trying to say something even as simple as “my house” or “her car.” The good news is German possessive pronouns actually follow a lot of consistent patterns, and once you understand the building blocks of this part of German grammar, these things start to look much clearer. This guide will help you make sense of all the German possessive pronouns so you can use them in practical, everyday situations.
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What are German possessive pronouns?
German possessive pronouns are a powerful part of speech that answers the question “Whose is it?” with grammatical precision. They replace German nouns that are already known to the reader or listener in order to avoid repetition.
For example, if you were already talking about some books belonging to your sister Beth with someone, and you didn’t want to have to say her name over and over again, you could simply swap out “Beth’s books” for “hers.” The word “hers” is one of the possessive pronouns in English, so you’ve already been using them your whole life! Now it’s time to add this skill into your German tool bag.
Mein, dein, sein: the core possessive pronouns explained
For each possessive pronoun in English, there are equivalent possessive pronouns in German. The possessive pronoun mein, for example, means “my” in English. The only difference with German possessive pronouns is the inclusion of the plural “you” and levels of formality. These pronouns are known as the “core” possessive pronouns in German because all forms of possessive pronouns stem from them.
Here are each of the core German possessive pronouns, along with their English translation:
- mein = mine
- dein = yours (singular informal)
- sein = his, its
- ihr = hers, theirs
- unser = ours
- euer = yours (plural informal)
- Ihr = yours (formal)
Start using German possessive pronouns with declensions made easy
When you start to include German possessive pronouns in your sentences, you will have to decline them. No, that doesn’t mean you have to reject them and hurt their feelings, but rather it means you have to adjust the ending of the pronoun. This process is known as “declension” or “declining.”
You will need to change the ending of your German possessive pronoun based on the noun that is being owned or possessed. Look for the case, grammatical gender, and number of the noun that is being owned. That will tell you what ending you’ll need to put on your possessive pronoun.
Here is an example of German possessive pronouns declining from their core form to a noun that is singular, grammatically masculine, and in the accusative case:
- mein → meinen
- dein → deinen
- sein → seinen
- ihr → ihren
- unser → unseren
- euer → euren
- Ihr → Ihren
Notice that all we had to do for most pronouns was add an ending of -en. Couldn’t be easier! Euer (your, informal plural) is our only exception, with the letter “e” being dropped from the core part of the verb. Adjustments like this are sometimes made with euer in order to make pronunciation easier.
How the German cases affect possessives
Once you’ve identified the grammatical gender and number of the noun being owned, the last step before you can decline your German possessive pronoun is finding out which case it’s in. There are four cases in German: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. Once you have this knowledge in hand, then you can correctly choose the right ending for your possessive pronoun.
Nominative case possessive pronouns
When you’re forming those first few exciting sentences with possessive pronouns, the German nominative case is the perfect place to begin. It’s the most basic and foundational case in German because it’s used for the subject of the sentence (the thing or person doing the action). That makes it a natural starting point for building sentences.
Check out the German possessive pronouns chart below to see how they each decline in the nominative case based on grammatical gender and number:
| Pronoun | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
| mein my |
meiner | meine | meines | meine |
| dein your, informal |
deiner | deine | deines | deine |
| sein his, its |
seiner | seine | seines | seine |
| ihr her, their |
ihrer | ihre | ihres | ihre |
| unser our |
unserer | unsere | unseres | unsere |
| euer your, plural informal |
eurer | eure | eures | eure |
| Ihr your, formal |
Ihrer | Ihre | Ihres | Ihre |
You can try adding them to some sentences like these:
- Meine ist kaputt. = Mine is broken.
- Deines steht draußen. = Yours is outside.
- Unserer ist der rote. = Ours is the red one.
Possessive pronouns in the accusative case
Once you feel comfortable declining possessive pronouns in the nominative case, the next step is getting the German accusative case figured out. This case is used for direct objects, meaning the person or thing being acted on in the sentence, like an apple that’s being thrown or a car that’s being driven.
The best trick to remembering accusative case declensions is that only masculine declensions change from their nominative counterparts. All other declensions stay the same!
This chart shows all the German possessive pronoun declensions for the accusative case.
| Pronoun | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
| mein my |
meinen | meine | meines | meine |
| dein your, informal |
deinen | deine | deines | deine |
| sein his, its |
seinen | seine | seines | seine |
| ihr her, their |
ihren | ihre | ihres | ihre |
| unser our |
unseren | unsere | unseres | unsere |
| euer your, plural informal |
euren | eure | eures | eure |
| Ihr your, formal |
Ihren | Ihre | Ihres | Ihre |
Now practice them in these examples:
- Magst du ihren? = Do you like hers?
- Er kennt meine nicht. = He doesn’t know mine.
- Hast du unseres gesehen? = Have you seen ours?
Dative case possessive pronouns
A light step up in challenge, the German dative case opens up a ton of useful, real-world German expressions you can use. This indirect object is the shining star of this case, which is the person or thing receiving or benefitting from the action of the sentence.
Dative possessive pronouns follow a pattern that’s familiar to those who’ve studied dative German articles, but they do require a bit more focus. Unlike the nominative and accusative cases which are very similar to each other, declensions in the dative case are largely unique.
Refer to the table below to see how possessive pronouns in German decline in the dative case:
| Pronoun | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
| mein my |
meinem | meiner | meinem | meinen |
| dein your, informal |
deinem | deiner | deinem | deinen |
| sein his, its |
seinem | seiner | seinem | seinen |
| ihr her, their |
ihrem | ihrer | ihrem | ihren |
| unser our |
unserem | unserer | unserem | unseren |
| euer your, plural informal |
eurem | eurer | eurem | euren |
| Ihr your, formal |
Ihrem | Ihrer | Ihrem | Ihren |
Now you can see the dative case pronouns in action:
- Ich helfe nur meinem. = I’m only helping mine.
- Er vertraut unseren nicht. = He doesn’t trust ours.
- Ich stimme deinem zu. = I agree with yours.
Genitive case possessive pronouns in German
Rounding out our four cases, the genitive case is less commonly used in casual conversation but is still a vital piece of the puzzle. The genitive case is used to show possession. Think of it as the case that answers the question “whose?” to get an answer like “her house” or “the idea was his.”
An easy trick to remembering declensions in this case is that there are only two endings available here: -es and -er. Both masculine and neuter give an ending of -es while feminine and plural decline with an -er ending.
This chart shows how the different German possessive pronouns decline in the genitive case:
| Pronoun | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
| mein my |
meines | meiner | meines | meiner |
| dein your, informal |
deines | deiner | deines | deiner |
| sein his, its |
seines | seiner | seines | seiner |
| ihr her, their |
ihres | ihrer | ihres | ihrer |
| unser our |
unseres | unserer | unseres | unserer |
| euer your, plural informal |
eures | eurer | eures | eurer |
| Ihr your, formal |
Ihres | Ihrer | Ihres | Ihrer |
Here are a few ways these genitive case possessive pronouns could be used:
- Die Farbe ihres gefällt mir besser. = I like the color of hers better.
- Die Entscheidung eurer hat mich überrascht. = All of yours’ opinions surprised me.
- Die Idee seines war interessanter. = The idea of his was more interesting.
Make pronoun declensions easy by noticing the patterns
Sprawling declension charts deceptively make grammar topics like German possessive pronouns more of a hassle to memorize. The trick is to notice patterns that cut down on how much you need to remember.
For example, you might notice that the declensions for feminine nouns are the same in the genitive case as they are in the dative case. Looking at similarities and drawing your own shortcuts for remembering information like this is an invaluable skill to build as you continue to learn German.
Review the declension shortcuts below, and consider learning German with Rosetta Stone’s app to get more helpful tips like these:
- Feminine and plural declensions are the same in all cases except dative.
- Pronoun declension endings match the corresponding German article for that noun. For example, ihrem Haus has the same –em ending as if it was dem Haus.
- Masculine and neuter declensions are the same for the dative and genitive cases.
Understanding possessive pronouns vs. possessive adjectives
A common point of confusion for German language learners is the difference between possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives. While they appear very similar on the surface, the key difference between them is how they’re used.
Possessive adjectives, like all German adjectives, will typically come directly before a noun to describe it. In this case, the adjective is describing who or what owns the noun.
- Das ist mein Buch. = That is my book.
- Sie liebt ihren Hund. = She loves her dog.
Possessive pronouns, on the other hand, stand alone and replace the noun of the sentence entirely. This is done to avoid repetition when you and your reader or listener already know what noun is being discussed.
- Ist das deiner? = Is that yours?
- Seines ist kaputt. = His is broken.
Key takeaways for German possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns in German have more rules to their usage than English possessives. Here are the key takeaways you’ll want to keep in mind about German possessive pronouns:
- German possessive pronouns are a part of speech that shows who or what owns a particular thing or things.
- The ending of possessive pronouns in German must agree with the noun being owned in terms of number, grammatical gender, and case.
- There are patterns that German possessive pronouns follow during declension, and learning these patterns can make memorizing declension charts easier.
- Possessive pronouns in German replace noun phrases, while possessive adjectives modify a noun to show who or what possesses it.
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