Revision: the possessive determiner
Ich habe meinen Bruder angerufen. Aber mein Bruder kann nicht kommen.
To express ownership or possession, we use the possessive determiner, rather than the indefinite article.
Here is an overview of the pronouns and their corresponding possessive determiners:
Pronoun | Possessive |
ich | mein |
du | dein |
er/es | sein |
sie | ihr |
wir | unser |
ihr | euer |
sie | ihr |
Sie | Ihr |
Revision: declension of the possessive determiner
The ending of the possessive determiner in the singular is identical to the ending of the indefinite article:
- In the nominative and accusative, the possessive determiner takes the ending -e when it comes before a feminine noun or a plural noun.
- In the accusative, the possessive determiner takes the ending -en when it comes before a masculine noun.
Personal pronoun: ich
Possessive determiner: mein
Nominative | Accusative |
mein Bruder meine Schwester mein Kind meine Eltern |
meinen Bruder meine Schwester mein Kind meine Eltern |
masculine:
mein Bruder (Nominative)
meinen Bruder (Accusative)
feminine:
meine Schwester (Nominative and Accusative)
neuter:
mein Kind (Nominative and Accusative)
plural:
meine Eltern (Nominative and Accusative)
Personal pronoun: ihr
Possessive determiner: euer
Pay attention to the irregular form of euer and the ending:
Nominative | Accusative |
euer Bruder eure Schwester euer Kind eure Eltern |
euren Bruder eure Schwester euer Kind eure Eltern |
masculine:
euer Bruder (Nominative)
euren Bruder (Accusative)
feminine:
eure Schwester (Nominative and Accusative)
neuter:
euer Kind (Nominative and Accusative)
plural:
eure Eltern (Nominative and Accusative)
Grammatical terms in German: der Possessivartikel: The possessive determiner is an article that expresses ownership or possession. |