I. Theory
German, like English, uses possessive adjectives which correspond to subject pronouns as a way of expressing ownership in similar ways. Examples of possessives in English are: my, his, her, their, etc. In English, these words are invariable - for example, we say “my friend,” “my friends,” “my friend’s mother.”In German, these pronouns take various forms based on the gender, number, and case of the noun they are describing.
| mein Haus my house meine Entscheidung my decision in unserer Wohnung in our apartment für seinen Sohn for his son |
II. Possessive Adjectives Chart
In the chart below, we see the possessive adjectives that correspond to each pronoun:Pronoun | Possessive | Pronoun | Possessive |
| ich | mein | wir | unser |
| du | dein | ihr | euer |
| er, es, man | sein | sie | Ihr |
| sie | ihr | Sie | Ihr |
Notes:
Although sie and Sie both use the same pronoun, Ihr is always capitalized when used with the formal.Sein is used as “his” but also as “its” and “one’s” when it is used with es or man.
| Können Sie mir Ihren Ausweis zeigen? Can you show me your ID? Das Baby spielt mit seinem Spielzeug. The baby plays with its toys. Am besten schreibt man in seiner Muttersprache. One writes best in one’s native language. |
III. Declining Possessives
Possessive adjectives take the same endings as indefinite articles. The possessive adjective ihr has been declined below as an example:Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
Nominative | ihr | ihre | ihr | ihre |
Accusative | ihren | ihre | ihr | ihre |
Dative | ihrem | ihrer | ihrem | ihren |
Genitive | ihres | ihrer | ihres | ihrer |
Just like with the indefinite article, preceding adjectives take strong endings if the noun in question is masculine nominative or neuter nominative/accusative. In all other situations, weak endings are used.
| dein schönes Haus your beautiful house ihr alter Tisch their old table seine junge Tochter his young daughter |
IV. unser and euer
The -er in these words is not a mutable ending but part of the adjective’s stem. The interior e in these possessive adjectives is typically dropped, at least in pronunciation, when an ending is added.| in uns(e)re Stadt in our town bei eu(e)ren Eltern at your parents’ zu uns(e)rem Büro to our office eu(e)re Party your party |