Genitive Prepositions in German

This section explains Genitive Prepositions in German. In German, some prepositions are followed by the genitive case. These are known as genitive prepositions. The genitive case is used to indicate possession, relationships, or certain types of movement or location. However, genitive prepositions are often considered more formal or literary and are less commonly used in everyday spoken language.

The genitive preposition changes the article or the personal pronoun following it to the genitive form, which varies depending on the gender and number of the noun.

List of Common Genitive Prepositions:

Genitive Case with Nouns:

When a noun follows a genitive preposition, the article changes to the genitive form. Here are the genitive articles for masculine, feminine, neuter, and plural nouns:

Examples with Nouns in Genitive:

• anstatt des Buches (instead of the book)
  • des is the genitive form of das (neuter article for "book").
• wegen der Krankheit (because of the illness)
  • der is the genitive form of die (feminine article for "illness").
• trotz des Regens (despite the rain)
  • des is the genitive form of der (masculine article for "rain").
• während der Ferien (during the holidays)
  • der is the genitive form of die (feminine article for "holidays").

Genitive Case with Personal Pronouns:

Personal pronouns also change in the genitive case. Here are the genitive forms for personal pronouns:

Examples with Personal Pronouns in Genitive:

• anstatt meiner Freunde (instead of my friends)
  • meiner is the genitive form of ich (I/my).
• wegen deiner Hilfe (because of your help)
  • deiner is the genitive form of du (you/informal singular).
• während seiner Abwesenheit (during his absence)
  • seiner is the genitive form of er (he/him).
• wegen ihrer Entscheidung (because of her decision)
  • ihrer is the genitive form of sie (she/her).

Examples of Sentences Using Genitive Prepositions:

• Anstatt des Autos kauften sie ein Fahrrad.
  (Instead of the car, they bought a bicycle.)
  • des Autos is in the genitive case because of the preposition anstatt.
• Trotz der hohen Kosten reisten sie nach Deutschland.
  (Despite the high costs, they travelled to Germany.)
  • der hohen Kosten is in the genitive case because of the preposition trotz.
• Während der Ferien waren wir in den Alpen.
  (During the holidays, we were in the Alps.)
  • der Ferien is in the genitive case because of the preposition während.
• Wegen seines Verhaltens musste er nach Hause gehen.
  (Because of his behaviour, he had to go home.)
  • seines Verhaltens is in the genitive case because of the preposition wegen.

Foundation Tier Examples:

• Trotz der schlechten Noten ging er in die Schule.
  (Despite the bad grades, he went to school.)
  • der schlechten Noten (the bad grades) is in the genitive case.
• Wegen des schlechten Wetters bleiben wir zu Hause.
  (Because of the bad weather, we are staying at home.)
  • des schlechten Wetters (the bad weather) is in the genitive case.

Higher Tier Examples:

• Anstatt des teuren Hotels buchten sie ein günstigeres.
  (Instead of the expensive hotel, they booked a cheaper one.)
  • des teuren Hotels (the expensive hotel) is in the genitive case.
• Wegen seiner schlechten Laune blieb er den ganzen Tag zu Hause.
  (Because of his bad mood, he stayed at home all day.)
  • seiner schlechten Laune (his bad mood) is in the genitive case.

Word Order with Genitive Prepositions:

As with other prepositions, the genitive preposition typically comes at the beginning of the prepositional phrase, followed by the noun (or pronoun) in the genitive case.

Example:
Wegen der Arbeit konnte er nicht kommen.
(Because of the work, he couldn't come.)

• Wegen is the preposition, and der Arbeit is in the genitive case.

Summary:

• Genitive prepositions are used with the genitive case and indicate relationships such as possession or cause.
• These prepositions are more formal or literary in German and are not as commonly used in everyday speech.
• Articles and personal pronouns change to the genitive form when used with these prepositions.
• Key genitive prepositions include anstatt, trotz, wegen, and während.

Key Vocabulary:

• instead of: anstatt
• despite: trotz
• during: während
• because of: wegen
• outside of: außerhalb
• inside of: innerhalb
• above: oberhalb
• below: unterhalb