Ads by

Grammar Monster Send feedback

Free Grammar Lessons and Exercises Why this ad?

Help and Tools A-Z Glossary Punctuation A-Z Easily Confused Words Games, Tests, and Fun Stuff

ed Pages What Is the Genitive Case? (with Examples)

Our Story One-To-One H
Click to search...
Find an online languag
case) dative case
tutor

Genitive Case Pick an English Tut

case) possessive The genitive case is predominantly used for showing possession. With nouns, it is usually
ase
created by adding 's to the word or by preceding it with "of." Apply to be an online
language tutor

case) objective
Register As a Tuto
ase

Top Tip! Technical He

Add a free grammar
checker to your
browser Download a modern g
< Previous Topic checker Next Topic >
(case) objective case (case) nominative case
case) nominative
ase
 Self Help
case) subjective Ads by
ase Buy a Send
grammar book w
feedback
Craig Shrives
Why this ad?

case) vocative case Download audio books

Amazon "Audible" acc

Most people will encounter the term "genitive case" when studying a language other than
English. In English, you will often hear the term "possessive case" in place of "genitive
case," but be aware that the genitive case is not always about possession (more below).

Examples of the Genitive Case

Here are some examples of the genitive case:

Carl's haircut Free Help

The edge of the table
Everything on Grammar Mon
Dog's bone free.

The bone of the dog

Grammar Glossary
There are several other ways of forming the genitive case using an apostrophe:

Common Grammar E
< Previous Topic Type Example Genitive Case Next Topic >
(case) objective case (case) nominative case

singular noun dog dog's dinner Punctuation Lessons

 plural noun dogs dogs' dinner
Tests
singular noun ending s Chris Chris' hat or Chris's hat Ads by
Send feedback
plural nouns not ending s Men Men's room
More free grammar help...
Why this ad?

Twitter (daily tips)

Got it? Take a quick test.

Read more about using an apostrophe to show possession. Facebook (daily tips)

Possessive Case or Genitive Case? YouTube

The "genitive case" is also called the "possessive case." The two terms are
interchangeable, but "possessive case" is more common in English study. However, as Email tips (weekly)
this case does not always show possession, some grammarians like to make a distinction
between the genitive case and the possessive case. For example:
...or join our Facebook group
Dan's bike grammar question.
(No one would argue this is the genitive case and the possessive case. It is the
bike of Dan. It is about possession.)

Children's songs
(This is not about possession. It's about songs for children. For this reason, some
argue this is the genitive case and not the possessive case.)

Constable's paintings
(This is not about possession. It's about paintings by Constable. Some would
argue this is the genitive case and not the possessive case.)

It is worth reiterating that the two terms are interchangeable. However, you might also
< Previous Topic Next Topic >
(case) objective case encounter writers who make a more marked distinction between the two. For example: (case) nominative case

Childrens Minister
 (Sometimes, the title "Childrens Minister" is written without an apostrophe to make
it clear it is a minister for children.)
Ads by
Children's Minister
Send feedback
(We judge this to be the correct version. It's just the genitive case. It's not always
about possession.) Why this ad?

This gives us a logic problem, however. Look at these examples (genitive case shaded):

The dog's dinner

The dinner of the dog

There are no issues with the two examples above. However, look at this pairing:

Picasso's painting

Painting by Picasso
(The phrase "by Picasso" is not the genitive case, even though it is an expansion
of something which is. Oh well, never mind.)

Genitive Adjectives and Pronouns

Possessive determiners (called possessive adjectives in traditional grammar) and
possessive personal pronouns are also forms of the genitive case. For example:

our carpet
("Our" is a genitive form of "we.")

Can I use yours?

("Yours" is a genitive form of "you.")

< Previous Topic Next Topic >

(case) objective case (case) nominative case
Prepositions That Take the Genitive Case
 If you're looking up the genitive case here on Grammar Monster, then there's a fair chance
you're learning a foreign language (probably either German or Russian). If that's you, then
here's a list of prepositions that take the genitive case in German: Ads by
Send feedback
angesichts (in view of)
Why this ad?
anstatt (instead of)

außerhalb (outside of)

beiderseits (on both sides of)

diesseits (this side of)

innerhalb (inside of)

jenseits (on the other side of)

laut (according to)

statt (instead of)

trotz (in spite of)

während (during, in the course of)

wegen (because of)

Those learning English are lucky. In English, the definite articles and the indefinite articles
do not change in the oblique cases. In other languages, however, they do. Here is how
they change in German in the genitive case:

The definite article:

< Previous Topic Next Topic >

(case) objective case Case \ Gender Masculine Feminine Neutral Plural (case) nominative case
 nominative der die das die

genitive des der des der Ads by

Send feedback

The indefinite article: Why this ad?

Case \ Gender Masculine Feminine Neutral

nominative ein eine ein

genitive eines einer eines

Nouns in the Genitive Case

In other languages (again, most obviously German and Russian), nouns in the genitive
case change too (i.e., it's not just the adjectives and articles). In German, the genitive case
is so important that most German dictionaries show the genitive form as well as the plural
form of every entry for a noun. For example:

der Bruder, -s, -e (brother)

In German, masculine and neuter nouns take the ending "-s" or "-es." Feminine nouns
have no ending. So, looking at the table above for the definite article and the dictionary
entry for "der Bruder," "der Bruder" becomes "des Bruders" in the genitive case.

Here are the endings of German nouns in the genitive case.

Gender Examples (the word, the genitive, the plural)

< Previous Topic feminine noun die Katze, - , -en Next Topic >
(case) objective case (case) nominative case

masculine noun der Freund, -es, -e

 neutral noun das Kind, -es, -er

Ads by

Why Should I Care about the Genitive Case? Send feedback

If you're learning a foreign language that features the genitive case, then you must get to Why this ad?
grips with it quickly. The genitive case is so important, it is often called the "second case"
(after the nominative case).

For those of you not learning a foreign language, here are some links to pages that will
help you to combat some common errors that are associated with the genitive case:

Don't misplace your possessive apostrophe.

Don't confuse possessive determiners (e.g., "its,""your," "their") with similar looking
contractions (e.g., "it's,""you're," "they're").

Don't put apostrophes in possessive pronouns (e.g., "her's ,""your's ," "their's
").

With a construction like "A of B" (e.g., "a box of tapes"), treat A as the subject not
B.

Key Point

Learning a foreign language? The genitive case is important. So, get your head
around those adjective and noun tables!

< Previous Topic Next Topic >

(case) objective case (case) nominative case
 Interactive Exercise
Ads by
Here are three randomly selected questions from a larger exercise, which can be
Send feedback
edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.
Why this ad?

Show All the Questions

Q1
Select the one with an example of the genitive case:

A: A bucket of beer

B: A bucket for beer

Q2
Select the one with an example of the genitive case:

A: It's mine!

B: Get off!

< Previous Topic Next Topic >

(case) objective case (case) nominative case
 Q3
Select the one with an example of the genitive case:
Ads by
Send feedback
A: Fillet of fish
Why this ad?

B: Fish and chips

How to print and send this test

Start Again

Show All the Questions

Help Us To Improve Grammar Monster

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Did you spot a typo?

Please tell us using this form .

< Previous Topic Next Topic >
(case) objective case (case) nominative case
 See Also
Ads by
Send feedback
What is the dative case?
Why this ad?

What is the accusative case?

What is the subjective case?

What is the objective case?

What is the vocative case?

What are nouns?

Using apostrophes to show possession

What are possessive adjectives?

What are possessive personal pronouns?

Glossary of grammatical terms

< Previous Topic Next Topic >

(case) objective case (case) nominative case
 Ads by
Improve Your Grammar
Send feedback

Why this ad?

Find a one-to-one tutor with Preply

Top tools to improve your grammar

More Cool Grammar Stuff

This short video explains a neat trick for learning, or even teaching, possessive
apostrophes:

Possessive Apostrophes Explained

< Previous Topic Next Topic >

(case) objective case (case) nominative case
 Ads by
Send feedback

Why this ad?

Please follow us on YouTube. We're working hard to create more videos!

< Previous Topic Next Topic >

(case) objective case (case) nominative case