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German Possessive Articles and Adjectives

Possessive articles (mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr) say whose something is. They take the same endings as ein and kein, matching the gender, case and number of the noun that follows.

  • CEFR A1
  • 8-question quiz
  • 1 exercise
Possessive endings follow ein and kein
  1. der Chef (accusative)→meinen Chefmy boss
  2. die Firma (nominative)→ihre Firmaher company
  3. der Kunde (dative)→unserem Kunden(to) our client
  4. die Kollegin (dative)→seiner Kollegin(to) his colleague
  5. die Kinder (dative plural)→deinen Kindern(to) your children
  6. das Projekt (genitive)→meines Projektsof my project

In German, it’s important to know possessive adjectives: important words like my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. Whether you’re referring to a pet, a car, a snack, or whatever … start using more descriptive words to show belonging…

Possessive adjectives (also called possessive articles) show possession. In English, these are: my, your, his, her, its, our, your (“y’all’s”), and their. These words have endings that match those of the indefinite/negative articles (altogether known as “ein” words), as shown in the tables below.

Nominative

CORE Languages German Possessive Articles and Adjectives
German Possessive Articles and Adjectives 5

Accusative

CORE Languages German Possessive Articles and Adjectives
German Possessive Articles and Adjectives 6

Dative

CORE Languages German Possessive Articles and Adjectives
German Possessive Articles and Adjectives 7

Genitive

CORE Languages German Possessive Articles and Adjectives
German Possessive Articles and Adjectives 8

Key vocabulary

WordMeaningExample
meinmyMein Büro ist im dritten Stock.
deinyour (informal, one person)Ist das dein Laptop?
seinhis, itsEr hat seinen Schlüssel vergessen.
ihrher; theirSie ruft ihre Kollegin an.
unserourUnser Team trifft sich jeden Montag.
eueryour (informal, several people)Wo ist euer Besprechungsraum?
eureyour (informal plural); euer drops its second e before an endingIch habe eure E-Mail bekommen.
Ihryour (formal, always capitalized)Darf ich Ihren Ausweis sehen?

Practice: German Possessive Articles and Adjectives

Work through the exercises, then test yourself with the quiz. Learn from your mistakes and try again as often as you like.

Exercises

Add the possessive article

Write the correct form of the possessive in parentheses. Check the gender and case of the noun.

  1. Ich rufe ______ (my) Chef an.

    der Chef, accusative

    Show answer

    meinen

  2. Das ist ______ (her) Firma.

    die Firma, nominative

    Show answer

    ihre

  3. Wir treffen ______ (our) Kunden um zehn.

    die Kunden, plural accusative

    Show answer

    unsere

  4. Hast du ______ (your, du) Schlüssel?

    der Schlüssel, accusative

    Show answer

    deinen

  5. Er spricht mit ______ (his) Kollegin.

    die Kollegin, dative after mit

    Show answer

    seiner

  6. Frau Becker, ist das ______ (your, formal) Tasche?

    die Tasche, nominative

    Show answer

    Ihre

  7. Kinder, wo ist ______ (your, ihr) Lehrer?

    der Lehrer, nominative

    Show answer

    euer

  8. Ich schicke ______ (my) Team eine E-Mail.

    das Team, dative

    Show answer

    meinem

  9. Das Auto ______ (my) Schwester ist neu.

    die Schwester, genitive

    Show answer

    meiner

  10. Wir danken ______ (our) Mitarbeitern.

    die Mitarbeiter, dative plural

    Show answer

    unseren

Quiz: 8 questions

1. Ich besuche morgen ______ Eltern.
2. Which word means 'their'?
3. Herr Klein, ist das ______ Mantel?
4. Er fährt mit ______ Auto zur Arbeit.
5. Kinder, wo sind ______ Jacken?
6. Wir haben ______ Kundin eine Rechnung geschickt.
7. Ich suche ______ Handy. (my)
8. Choose the correct sentence.

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