Possessive determiners
Express my, your, his, her, and our.
The rule
Choose the possessive stem from the owner: mein, dein, sein, ihr and so on. Choose its ending from the gender, number and case of the following noun.
ich → mein · du → dein · er/es → sein · sie → ihr · wir → unser · ihr → euer · sie/Sie → ihr/Ihr
Choose the stem from the owner: ich → mein-, du → dein-, er/es → sein-, sie → ihr-, wir → unser-, ihr → euer-, sie → ihr-, and formal Sie → Ihr-.
Then choose the ending from the possessed noun. The owner does not decide the ending: mein Bruder and meine Schwester both belong to ich, but Bruder is masculine and Schwester is feminine.
In the nominative, masculine and neuter have no ending: mein Vater, mein Kind. Feminine and plural take -e: meine Mutter, meine Freunde.
Possessive stems by owner
| Owner | Stem | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich | mein- | my | mein Bruder |
| du | dein- | your | deine Schwester |
| er / es | sein- | his / its | sein Auto |
| sie | ihr- | her | ihre Tasche |
| wir | unser- | our | unser Haus |
| ihr | euer- | your | eure Freunde |
| sie / Sie | ihr- / Ihr- | their / your | ihre Kinder / Ihr Pass |
Endings in nominative and accusative
| Gender / number | Nominative | Accusative |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | mein Bruder | meinen Bruder |
| feminine | meine Schwester | meine Schwester |
| neuter | mein Kind | mein Kind |
| plural | meine Freunde | meine Freunde |
The two-step decision
| Sentence | Owner → stem | Noun → ending | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| I visit my brother. | ich → mein- | Bruder, masc. acc. → -en | meinen Bruder |
| Her bag is here. | sie → ihr- | Tasche, fem. nom. → -e | ihre Tasche |
| Our child is sleeping. | wir → unser- | Kind, neut. nom. → — | unser Kind |
| Is that your passport? | Sie → Ihr- | Pass, masc. nom. → — | Ihr Pass |
German examples with English meanings
Das ist meine Schwester.
That is my sister.
Paul sucht seinen Schlüssel.
Paul is looking for his key.
sein + masculine accusative -en
Wir besuchen unsere Freunde.
We visit our friends.
Ist das Ihr Pass, Frau Roth?
Is that your passport, Ms Roth?
formal Ihr is capitalized
ich + Bruder → mein Bruder
my brother
sie + Bruder (acc.) → ihren Bruder
her brother
wir + Freunde → unsere Freunde
our friends
Paul liebt seine Familie.
Paul loves his family.
Mia liebt ihre Familie.
Mia loves her family.
Das Kind sucht sein Spielzeug.
The child is looking for its toy.
Ist das Ihre Tasche?
Is that your bag? (formal)
Mia sucht ihre Tasche.
Mia is looking for her bag.
Die Gäste suchen ihre Taschen.
The guests are looking for their bags.
Common mistakes
Incorrect: Anna besucht sein Bruder.
Correct: Anna besucht ihren Bruder.
Anna maps to ihr-, and masculine accusative takes -en.
Incorrect: Ich sehe mein Mutter.
Correct: Ich sehe meine Mutter.
Mutter is feminine, so add -e.
Incorrect: Wir besuchen unser Freunde.
Correct: Wir besuchen unsere Freunde.
Plural accusative takes -e.
Incorrect: Ist das ihr Pass, Herr Klein?
Correct: Ist das Ihr Pass, Herr Klein?
Formal possessive Ihr is capitalised.
Details and useful distinctions
In the accusative, masculine adds -en: meinen Vater. Feminine, neuter, and plural keep their nominative-looking forms: meine Mutter, mein Kind, meine Freunde.
euer changes shape before endings: euer Vater, eure Mutter, euer Kind, eure Freunde, euren Vater. The unstressed second e normally disappears.
Formal Ihr/Ihre/Ihren is capitalised, while lowercase ihr- can mean her or their. Context identifies the owner: ihre Tasche may be her bag or their bag.
Do not translate my, her, or their as one finished German word. First identify the owner's pronoun and select the stem. Then analyse the possessed noun just as you would after ein.
For Anna besucht ihren Bruder: Anna equals sie, giving ihr-. Bruder is masculine accusative, giving -en. The two decisions combine as ihren Bruder.
Use sein- for an owner represented by er or es, and ihr- for an owner represented by sie. The possessed noun does not influence this stem choice.
Paul sucht seinen Schlüssel; Mia sucht ihren Schlüssel. Schlüssel is the same masculine accusative noun in both sentences, so only the owner's stem changes.
Formal Ihr behaves like other possessives but is always capitalised: Ist das Ihr Pass, Frau Klein? Lowercase ihr can mean her or their, and its surrounding subject or context resolves the meaning.
Compare Mia öffnet ihre Tasche and Die Kinder öffnen ihre Taschen. The form begins the same, but the owners differ in number.
Practise this grammar
Solve possession in two moves: the owner chooses the stem; the possessed noun chooses the ending. Say both decisions aloud until the method becomes automatic.
Open Possessive determiners exercises →
For source references and editorial level notes, see the grammar reference. You can report a correction if an explanation or example seems wrong.