Genitive
The genitive case (der Genitiv) is one of the four cases of the German language. A case affects how a noun or noun phrase is inflected, and indicates the role of the noun or noun phrase in a clause.
🗨 How do I decline in the dative case?
Nouns and adjective declension is completely different compared to the nominative case. Pronoun declension does exist but it is virtually never used. See >explain adjective declension for a full explanation.
🗨 When do I use the genitive case?
The genitive case is mainly used:
- to link nouns, especially when showing possession
Dies ist der größte Bahnhof der Welt.
Die Hälfte des Kuchens gehört mir.
Es gibt noch einen Strahl der Hoffnung.
For proper names, the order is reversed and an 's' is attached to the proper name as long as it does not end with an 's' sound.
Deutschlands längster Fluss ist der Rhein.
- to mark the object of very few transitive verbs
Empfindliche Haut bedarf besonderer Pflege.
Heute gedenkt die Nation des Jahrestages der Verfassung.
Wir harren einer Antwort.
- after some prepositions
The following prepositions are commonly followed by the genitive case in written German, but usually with the dative case in spoken German:
(an)statt, trotz, während, wegen
Prepositions denoting position are usually followed by the genitive case:
außerhalb, innerhalb, oberhalb, unterhalb, jenseits
A great number of prepositions that are only used in formal German, such as:
angesichts, bezüglich, einschließlich, fernab, infolge, namens, seitens, zugunsten
- by adverbials of indefinite time
Eines Tages werde ich Deutsch beherrschen.
Sonntags sind wir meist unterwegs.
Eines Nachts hörte ihr Vater sie weinen.
Note the declension in the last sentence. Although ìt is die Nacht, it assumes a similar form as the rest.