German possessives A2: stems and endings
CEFR A2
What you will learn
- Recognise the pattern taught in “German possessives A2: stems and endings” in a short example.
- Choose the appropriate form from “German possessives A2: stems and endings” using explicit evidence.
- Apply and justify the rule from “German possessives A2: stems and endings” in a new case.
The idea
A possessive is built through two independent choices: the stem identifies the possessor, while the ending agrees with the possessed noun in case, gender and number.
First identify the possessor: ich→mein-, du→dein-, er→sein-, singular sie→ihr-, es→sein-, wir→unser-, ihr→euer-, plural sie→ihr-, Sie→Ihr-. The possessor's gender only distinguishes er/sie/es; it does not determine the ending. A woman can therefore say mein Bruder and a man seine Schwester.
Then apply the ein-series endings. In the nominative, masculine and neuter have no ending, while feminine and plural take -e. In the accusative, only masculine adds -en; feminine and plural retain -e, and neuter has no ending. Dative endings are -em, -er, -em and -en. Genitive endings, included as a reference paradigm, are -es, -er, -es and -er.
euer- normally drops its internal e before an ending: eure, euren, eurem; unser- keeps its structure: unsere, unseren. Capitalised Ihr- belongs to formal address and is distinguished from ihr- 'her/their' through context and spelling.
A possessive fills the determiner position: mein alter Computer. It does not combine with another article before the same noun (der mein Computer). Stand-alone possessives have additional pronominal forms and belong to a separate extension.
raices por poseedor
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| 1 | ich → mein- |
| 2 | du → dein- |
| 3 | er → sein- |
| 4 | sie (singular) → ihr- |
| 5 | es → sein- |
| 6 | wir → unser- |
| 7 | ihr → euer- |
| 8 | sie (plural) → ihr- |
| 9 | Sie → Ihr- |
terminaciones nominativo m n f pl
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| masculino | -∅ |
| neutro | -∅ |
| femenino | -e |
| plural | -e |
terminaciones acusativo m n f pl
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| masculino | -en |
| neutro | -∅ |
| femenino | -e |
| plural | -e |
terminaciones dativo m n f pl
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| masculino | -em |
| neutro | -em |
| femenino | -er |
| plural | -en |
terminaciones genitivo m n f pl
| elemento | forma |
|---|---|
| masculino | -es |
| neutro | -es |
| femenino | -er |
| plural | -er |
How it sounds
- Unsere Nachbarin verkauft ihr Fahrrad.unser- identifies wir; ihr- refers to the neighbour here, and Fahrrad is neuter accusative.
- Ich antworte Ihrem Kollegen.Formal Ihr- is capitalised; Kollegen is masculine dative.
- Wir besuchen eure Eltern.euer- drops its internal e before -e: eure.
Your turn
Two or three, to check that the bit above landed.
Paul sucht ___ Jacke. (Paul)
seine — Paul corresponds to er and supplies sein-. Jacke is feminine accusative, so the ending is -e.
Fahrt ihr mit ___ Auto? (ihr)
eurem — The possessor ihr gives euer-. mit requires dative and Auto is neuter: eurem, with the internal e dropped.
Herr Vogt, ist das ___ Pass?
Ihr — Formal address uses capitalised Ihr-. Pass is masculine nominative and takes no ending.
When it doesn't hold
What breaks the rule, said out loud. Hiding it is what makes you feel cheated in the exam.
- euer drops an e when it takes an ending and becomes eur-.euer Haus, aber: eure Wohnung
- With body parts German prefers the article plus a dative, not the possessive.Ich wasche mir die Hände.
- ihr covers both her and their, and only context tells them apart.ihr Auto
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong Ich sehe mein Bruder.
Right Ich sehe meinen Bruder.
English possessives never change shape at all, so my stays my in every position. German endings move with the case, and the masculine accusative is the one that shows it first.