Possession: von and genitive
Express ownership in spoken and written German.
The rule
Express possession with von + dative, a name + -s, or the genitive. Genitive masculine and neuter nouns usually also take -(e)s.
das Auto von meinem Bruder · Annas Auto · das Auto meines Bruders
Choose the register and possessor: von + dative is neutral in conversation; name + -s is compact; genitive is common in careful writing.
The genitive articles are des/eines for masculine and neuter and der/einer for feminine and plural. Masculine/neuter nouns usually add -s or -es.
German places no apostrophe before a normal possessive -s: Marias Buch. Names ending in an s-sound take an apostrophe alone: Max' Fahrrad.
Core forms and structures
Use this table as a reference, then retrieve the forms without looking.
| Form | Function | German example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| spoken | von + dative | das Buch von Anna | Anna's book |
| name | name + s | Annas Buch | Anna's book |
| masc./neut. genitive | des + -(e)s | des Mannes | of the man |
| fem./plural genitive | der | der Frau / Kinder | of the woman/children |
German examples with English meanings
Das ist das Auto von meinem Bruder.
That is my brother's car.
Von takes masculine dative meinem.
Annas Wohnung ist groß.
Anna's apartment is large.
German adds -s to names without an apostrophe.
Das Fahrrad meines Bruders ist neu.
My brother's bicycle is new.
Masculine genitive possessive is meines; Bruder adds -s.
Die Tür des Hauses ist offen.
The door of the house is open.
Neuter genitive uses des and Haus adds -es.
Der Name der Straße ist neu.
The name of the street is new.
Feminine genitive uses der without a noun ending.
Max' Handy liegt hier.
Max's phone is lying here.
Die Eltern meiner Freundin kommen.
My friend's parents are coming.
Die Farbe des Autos gefällt mir.
I like the colour of the car.
Das Ende des Films war traurig.
The end of the film was sad.
Das Haus von unseren Nachbarn ist alt.
Our neighbours' house is old.
Common mistakes
Incorrect: Maxs Handy liegt hier.
Correct: Max' Handy liegt hier.
A name ending in an s-sound takes an apostrophe alone.
Incorrect: Die Eltern meine Freundin kommen.
Correct: Die Eltern meiner Freundin kommen.
Feminine genitive possessive is meiner.
Incorrect: Die Farbe von das Auto gefällt mir.
Correct: Die Farbe des Autos gefällt mir.
Neuter genitive uses des; Auto adds -s.
Incorrect: Das Ende der Film war traurig.
Correct: Das Ende des Films war traurig.
Masculine genitive uses des and Film adds -s.
Incorrect: Das Haus von unsere Nachbarn ist alt.
Correct: Das Haus von unseren Nachbarn ist alt.
Von takes plural dative unseren.
Details and useful distinctions
Treat the genitive noun phrase as one unit that answers Wessen?—whose?—and keep its internal article and noun endings together.
Practise this grammar
Ask Wessen?, choose spoken von, name + -s, or genitive, then keep the possessor phrase intact and check masculine/neuter -(e)s.
Open Possession: von and genitive exercises →
For source references and editorial level notes, see the grammar reference. You can report a correction if an explanation or example seems wrong.