Genitive case: Nouns and articles
In German there are four cases: nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. Nouns (and related words) are declined – that means they change their form according to the case. The four cases indicate the role that the noun has in the sentence.
Nouns with definite article
| Masculine | Feminine | Neutral | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | der Mann | die Frau | das Kind | die Leute |
| Accusative | den Mann | die Frau | das Kind | die Leute |
| Dative | dem Mann | der Frau | dem Kind | den Leuten |
| Genitive | des Mannes | der Frau | des Kindes | der Leute |
Nouns with indefinite article
| Masculine | Feminine | Neutral | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ein Mann | eine Frau | ein Kind | Leute |
| Accusative | einen Mann | eine Frau | ein Kind | Leute |
| Dative | einem Mann | einer Frau | einem Kind | Leuten |
| Gentive | eines Mannes | einer Frau | eines Kindes | Leute |
An extra -s or -es is added to masculine and neuter nouns in the genitive.
-es is often added to nouns with only one syllable: das Buch – der Titel des Buches/der Titel des Buchs
-es is always added to nouns ending with -s, -ß, x, – z, -tz: das Glas – die Farbe des Glases
-s is added to nouns with more than one syllable: das Hotel – der Name des Hotels