Overview
Possessive pronouns in German are used to show ownership or relationship, similar to English possessive pronouns like "mine," "yours," "his," and so on. They replace nouns and indicate who something belongs to. In German, possessive pronouns change depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun they refer to.
Forms of Possessive Pronouns
Each possessive pronoun in German corresponds to a personal pronoun and shows possession accordingly:
- mein- (my)
- dein- (your, informal singular)
- sein- (his/its)
- ihr- (her/their/your formal)
- unser- (our)
- euer- (your, plural informal)
These forms must be declined to match the gender, number, and case of the noun they modify.
Usage and Case
Possessive pronouns must be declined according to the case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive), number (singular or plural), and gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) of the noun they refer to. This makes them inflect similar to adjectives, taking different endings.
The following table shows examples of possessive pronouns in the nominative case (subject form):
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | mein | meine | mein | meine |
| Accusative | meinen | meine | mein | meine |
| Dative | meinem | meiner | meinem | meinen |
| Genitive | meines | meiner | meines | meiner |
Examples of Possessive Pronouns
- Das ist mein Buch. – This is my book.
- Ist das dein Hund? – Is that your dog?
- Sie hat ihre Tasche vergessen. – She forgot her bag.
- Wir lieben unser Haus. – We love our house.
- Habt ihr eure Bücher? – Do you (plural) have your books?
Conjugations
Possessive pronouns are not conjugated like verbs but declined like adjectives. The following table explains possessive pronouns by personal pronoun ownership, with example sentences for nominative singular masculine:
| German Pronoun | Possessive Pronoun | English Equivalent | German Example | English Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ich | mein | my | Mein Hund ist groß. | My dog is big. |
| du | dein | your (informal) | Dein Auto ist schnell. | Your car is fast. |
| er | sein | his | Sein Buch liegt hier. | His book is here. |
| sie (she) | ihr | her | Ihr Mantel ist warm. | Her coat is warm. |
| es | sein | its | Sein Fell ist weich. | Its fur is soft. |
| wir | unser | our | Unser Garten ist schön. | Our garden is nice. |
| ihr | euer | your (plural) | Euer Haus ist alt. | Your house is old. |
| sie (they) | ihr | their | Ihr Kind ist nett. | Their child is nice. |
| Sie (formal) | Ihr | your (formal) | Ihr Name ist bekannt. | Your name is known. |
Use of possessive pronouns depends on the proper declension based on the noun's gender, number, and case to be fully correct in sentences.
