Possessive Articles (Accusative and Dative)
Possessivartikel im Akkusativ und Dativ
German possessives are mein (my), dein (your), sein (his/its), ihr (her), unser (our), euer (your plural) and ihr/Ihr (their/your formal). Unlike English, they take endings that match the gender, number and case of the noun that follows, using exactly the same pattern as ein/eine: mein Hund, meine Katze, seinen Hund.
Learn mein, dein, sein, ihr and their forms.
Lesson at a glance
Summary
Learn mein, dein, sein, ihr and their forms.
- 7 rules
- 12 worked examples
- 20 interactive exercises
Rules & Explanations
Possessive Pronouns
Possessivpronomen
My, your, his, her — these are possessive articles: they stand before a noun. In English, they never change. My dog, my cat, my house — always my. In German, they change based on gender and case!
German possessives change their ending based on the gender of the noun and the case. mein Hund (masc. nom.), meine Katze (fem. nom.), meinen Hund (masc. acc.), meinem Hund (masc. dat.).
English is simple: my dog, my cat, my house, my children — always my. His book, his pen, his table — always his.
mein Hund, meine Katze, mein Haus
my dog, my cat, my house
mein = masculine/neuter. meine = feminine/plural. Same pattern as ein/eine!
Possessives follow the same endings as ein/eine. Learn the pattern once, use it for all possessives!
The Possessive Pronouns
Die Possessivpronomen
Learn the base forms first. Then add endings based on gender and case — same as ein/eine!
| Pronoun | Possessive | English |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mein | my |
| du | dein | your (informal) |
| er | sein | his |
| sie | ihr | her |
| es | sein | its |
| wir | unser | our |
| ihr | euer | your (plural) |
| sie/Sie | ihr/Ihr | their / your (formal) |
The possessive articles take the endings of ein, and in the plural those of kein: mein Hund, meine Kinder (like keine Kinder).
Possessives = ein with different first letters. mein, dein, sein, ihr all work like ein!
Common Mistakes
-
✗ sein Katze (his cat)
✓ seine Katze
Katze = feminine. sein + feminine ending = seine. Like eine!
-
✗ mein Kinder (my children)
✓ meine Kinder
Kinder = plural. mein + plural ending = meine. Like keine!
Endings in All Cases
Endungen in allen Fällen
Same endings for all possessives (dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer). Just replace mein- with dein-, sein-, etc.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | mein | meine | mein | meine |
| Accusative | meinen | meine | mein | meine |
| Dative | meinem | meiner | meinem | meinen |
Nominative: mein/meine/mein/meine. Same as ein! Accusative: add -en for masculine. Dative: -em (m/n), -er (f), -en (pl).
mein = ein with M. dein = ein with D. sein = ein with S. Same endings always!
unser, euer and ihr / Ihr
unser, euer und ihr / Ihr
euer drops the -e- in the middle as soon as an ending is added: euer -> eure, euren, eurem. unser keeps it: unsere, unseren, unserem. Small ihr means her or their; mid-sentence, capital Ihr is the polite your (Sie-form). At the start of a sentence every ihr is capitalised.
euer verliert ein -e-: euer, aber eure, euren, eurem. unser behält es immer.
| Fall | unser | euer | ihr / Ihr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ maskulin | unser Vater | euer Vater | ihr Vater / Ihr Vater |
| Nominativ feminin | unsere Mutter | eure Mutter | ihre Mutter / Ihre Mutter |
| Akkusativ maskulin | unseren Vater | euren Vater | ihren Vater / Ihren Vater |
| Dativ maskulin/neutrum | unserem Kind | eurem Kind | ihrem Kind / Ihrem Kind |
| Dativ feminin | unserer Mutter | eurer Mutter | ihrer Mutter / Ihrer Mutter |
| Dativ Plural | unseren Kindern | euren Kindern | ihren Kindern / Ihren Kindern |
Small ihr = her or their. Mid-sentence, the capital I marks the polite your: Wie ist Ihr Name? At the start of a sentence every ihr is capitalised, so context decides.
euer + ending = eure. One e falls out.
Possessives after dative prepositions
Possessivpronomen nach Dativ-Präpositionen
After mit, bei, zu, von, nach and aus the dative is compulsory, and the possessive carries the dative ending too. The same happens after the dative verbs helfen, danken, gehören, gefallen and passen: Ich helfe meiner Nachbarin.
Nach mit, bei, zu, von, nach und aus steht immer der Dativ. Dein Possessivpronomen bekommt dann auch eine Dativ-Endung.
| Präposition | Beispiel | Form |
|---|---|---|
| mit | Ich fahre mit meinem Chef zur Arbeit. | maskulin: meinem |
| bei | Sie arbeitet bei ihrer Tante. | feminin: ihrer |
| zu | Wir gehen zu unserem Zahnarzt. | maskulin: unserem |
| von | Das Paket kommt von meiner Chefin. | feminin: meiner |
| nach | Nach eurem Termin trinken wir Kaffee. | maskulin: eurem |
| aus | Der Brief kommt aus seiner Firma. | feminin: seiner |
| mit (Plural) | Ich spiele Karten mit meinen Großeltern. | Plural: meinen |
The dative endings are identical on every possessive: -em (masc./neut.), -er (fem.), -en (plural). In the plural the noun adds -n as well: meinen Kindern.
mit, bei, zu -> always dative. Think -em, -er, -en.
Mistakes with possessives
Fehler mit Possessivpronomen
These five slips turn up in almost every A2 writing task. Check the case first, the gender second.
Diese Fehler hörst du oft. Achte besonders auf den Dativ.
✗Das Auto gehört unsere Nachbarin.
✓Das Auto gehört unserer Nachbarin.
gehören is a dative verb, and the feminine dative ending is -er: unserer Nachbarin.
gehören braucht den Dativ. Feminin heißt es unserer.
🧠 Feminine dative -er, like der Nachbarin.
✗Wann kommen euere Gäste?
✓Wann kommen eure Gäste?
euer loses the e in the middle before an ending: eure, never euere.
euer verliert vor der Endung ein e.
✗Ich frage seine Chef.
✓Ich frage seinen Chef.
Chef is masculine and the direct object, so sein becomes seinen.
Chef ist maskulin und Akkusativ: seinen.
✗Das ist Ihre Formular, Frau Sommer.
✓Das ist Ihr Formular, Frau Sommer.
Formular is neuter nominative, so the possessive takes no ending at all.
Formular ist neutrum. Im Nominativ steht Ihr ohne Endung.
✗Er fährt mit seine Freunde nach Wien.
✓Er fährt mit seinen Freunden nach Wien.
mit takes the dative: the possessive ends in -en and the noun adds -n.
Im Plural heißt es seinen Freunden, mit -n am Nomen.
Nearly every possessive error is a case error, not a gender error.
Ask the case first, the gender second. Then the ending is easy.
Quick Reference
Kurzübersicht
- Possessives: mein, dein, sein, ihr, sein, unser, euer, ihr/Ihr
- ALL follow the same endings as ein/eine
- Nominative: mein (m/n), meine (f/pl)
- Accusative: meinen (m), meine (f/pl), mein (n)
- Dative: meinem (m/n), meiner (f), meinen (pl)
- sein = his/its. ihr = her/their. Context tells you which!
Examples
Mein Hund ist groß.
My dog is big.
MeinHund = masculine nominative. mein (no ending, like ein).
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Mein | my (nom. masc.) |
| Hund | dog |
| ist | is |
| groß | big |
Meine Katze ist klein.
My cat is small.
MeineKatze = feminine nominative. mein + e = meine (like eine).
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Meine | my (nom. fem.) |
| Katze | cat |
| ist | is |
| klein | small |
Ich sehe seinen Hund.
I see his dog.
seinenHund = masculine accusative. sein + en = seinen.
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ich | I |
| sehe | see |
| seinen | his (acc. masc.) |
| Hund | dog |
Wo ist dein Buch?
Where is your book?
deinBuch = neuter nominative. dein (no ending, like ein).
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Wo | where |
| ist | is |
| dein | your (nom. neut.) |
| Buch | book |
Draußen spielen ihre Kinder.
Her children are playing outside.
ihreKinder = plural nominative. ihr + e = ihre.
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| draußen | outside |
| spielen | play |
| ihre | her (nom. plural) |
| Kinder | children |
Ich helfe meinem Bruder.
I help my brother.
meinemhelfen + dative. Bruder = masculine. mein + em = meinem.
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ich | I |
| helfe | help (+dat.) |
| meinem | my (dat. masc.) |
| Bruder | brother |
Das ist unser Haus.
That is our house.
unserHaus = neuter nominative. unser (no ending needed).
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Das | that |
| ist | is |
| unser | our (nom. neut.) |
| Haus | house |
Ich gebe meiner Schwester ein Geschenk.
I give my sister a gift.
meinerSchwester = feminine dative. mein + er = meiner.
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ich | I |
| gebe | give |
| meiner | my (dat. fem.) |
| Schwester | sister |
| ein | a |
| Geschenk | gift |
Unsere Nachbarin arbeitet in einer Apotheke.
Our neighbour works in a pharmacy.
UnsereNachbarin is feminine nominative, so unser takes -e, exactly like eine.
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Unsere | our (nom. fem.) |
| Nachbarin | neighbour (female) |
| arbeitet | works |
| in | in |
| einer | a (dat. fem.) |
| Apotheke | pharmacy |
Euer Kalender hängt in der Küche.
Your calendar is hanging in the kitchen.
EuerMasculine nominative takes no ending, so euer keeps its e: euer Kalender.
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Euer | your (pl., nom. masc.) |
| Kalender | calendar |
| hängt | hangs |
| in | in |
| der | the (dat. fem.) |
| Küche | kitchen |
Das Zimmer gefällt meinen Eltern.
My parents like the room.
meinengefallen is a dative verb, and Eltern is plural, so the ending is -en.
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Das | the (nom. neut.) |
| Zimmer | room |
| gefällt | is pleasing to, appeals to |
| meinen | my (dat. pl.) |
| Eltern | parents |
Ihr Zug fährt um neun Uhr, Frau Sommer.
Your train leaves at nine, Mrs Sommer.
IhrZug is masculine nominative, so the polite Ihr takes no ending.
Examine this sentence in Sentence X-Ray →| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ihr | your (formal, nom. masc.) |
| Zug | train |
| fährt | leaves, goes |
| um | at |
| neun | nine |
| Uhr | o'clock |
| Frau | Mrs |
| Sommer | Sommer |
Practice Exercises
20 interactive exercises
The rules are free. The practice is part of A2.1.
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Grammar is just the beginning
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Related Topics
Personal Pronouns
Master ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie/Sie.
Definite Articles
Master the use of der, die, das with nouns.
Nominative Case
Learn the subject case and its article forms.
Dative Case
Master indirect objects and dative article changes.
Reflexive Verbs
Learn sich waschen, sich freuen and similar verbs.
Common questions about German possessive pronouns
What are the possessive pronouns in German?
There are eight base forms, one per personal pronoun: ich to mein, du to dein, er to sein, sie to ihr, es to sein, wir to unser, ihr to euer, and sie/Sie to ihr/Ihr. Each one then takes an ending. Note that sein covers both his and its, while ihr covers both her and their.
How do German possessive endings work?
They copy the ein/eine pattern exactly. Nominative: mein Hund (masculine), meine Katze (feminine), mein Buch (neuter), meine Bücher (plural). Accusative changes only masculine to meinen: Ich sehe seinen Hund. Dative gives meinem, meiner, meinem and meinen. Learn the endings once and they work for dein, sein, ihr, unser and euer too.
What is the difference between sein and ihr in German?
Sein means his or its and refers back to a masculine or neuter owner; ihr means her or their and refers back to a feminine or plural owner. The ending agrees with the thing owned, not the owner: seine Mutter is his mother, ihr Vater is her father. Capitalised Ihr means your in the formal Sie form.
Why is it mein Hund but meine Katze?
Because the ending agrees with the noun that follows. Hund is masculine, so the nominative form has no ending: mein Hund. Katze is feminine, so it takes -e: meine Katze. It works exactly like ein Hund versus eine Katze. The owner never changes the ending — only the gender, number and case of the possession do.
How do I say your in German?
It depends on who you are addressing. Use dein for one person you know well (Wo ist dein Buch?), euer for several people you know well (euer Haus), and capitalised Ihr for the formal Sie, singular or plural (Ist das Ihr Mantel?). All three then take the normal ein-type endings.