Possessive Adjectives — German Grammar

Possessive adjectives indicate ownership or relationship, corresponding to English words like my, your, or his. In German, using them correctly requires a two-step process: first, choosing the correct base word (stem) depending on who the owner is, and second, adding the correct grammatical ending depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun being possessed.

Selecting the Base Form

The base form of the possessive adjective is determined solely by the person or object that "owns" the noun.

I (ich):
You (du, informal singular):
He / It (er / es):
She (sie):
We (wir):
You (ihr, informal plural):
They (sie):
You (Sie, formal):

Das ist mein Buch.
That is my book.
Wir besuchen unseren Opa.
We are visiting our grandpa.

Agreement with the Noun

Once you have the base form, you must attach an ending. This ending does not depend on the owner, but rather on the grammatical gender and case of the thing being owned.

Possessive adjectives follow the same declension pattern as the indefinite article .

In the Nominative Case (Subject)

Masculine & Neuter: No ending is added to the base.
Feminine & Plural: The ending is added.

Sein Vater ist groß.
His father is tall.
Seine Mutter ist klein.
His mother is short.
Ihre Kinder sind hier.
Her children are here.

Changes in Other Cases

Because possessive adjectives function like articles, their endings change when the noun is not the subject of the sentence (such as in the Accusative or Dative cases).

For example, if a masculine noun becomes the direct object (Accusative), the possessive adjective takes the ending , mirroring the change from to .

Ich habe meinen Schlüssel vergessen.
I forgot my key.
Sie sucht ihren Hund.
She is looking for her dog.

The Irregularity of "Euer"

The possessive adjective for "you all" (plural informal) is . When an ending is added to this word, the spelling changes slightly to aid pronunciation. The before the is dropped.

Base:
With ending: (not )

Euer Haus ist schön.
Your house is beautiful.
Sind das eure Schuhe?
Are those your shoes?

Distinguishing the Variations of "Ihr"

The word appears three times in the list of possessive adjectives, which can be confusing. You must look at the context and capitalization to determine the meaning.

ihr (lowercase): Means her (referring to a female owner).
ihr (lowercase): Means their (referring to plural owners).
Ihr (capitalized): Means your (referring to the formal "Sie").

In writing, the formal is always capitalized, regardless of where it appears in the sentence.

Das ist ihr Stift.
That is her pen. (or "their pen")
Das ist Ihr Stift.
That is your pen. (Formal)

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s German course

98 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 2. A few of them, with the words “Possessive Adjectives” is about in bold:

Das ist meine Freundin, Anna. Sie ist eine Studentin.
This is my friend, Anna. She is a student.
Lesson 2
Mein Vater hat ein Geschenk für meine Mutter gekauft.
My father bought a present for my mother.
Lesson 225
Wo ist unsere Tochter? - Sie ist in der Schule.
Where is our daughter? - She's at school.
Lesson 242

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