Possessive articles (my, your …) (A1) – German grammar

The owner picks the word (mein, dein, sein …); the noun picks the ending, like ein: meine Tasche.

Learn first:Definite and indefinite articles in the nominative Accusative case Dative case

Which possessive article for which owner

Owner (pronoun)	Possessive article	Example	Meaning
ich	mein	mein Buch	my book
du	dein	dein Buch	your book (informal)
er / es	sein	sein Buch	his / its book
sie (she)	ihr	ihr Buch	her book
wir	unser	unser Buch	our book
ihr (you all)	euer	euer Buch	your book (you all)

The main points

The owner picks the word: mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr.
The noun picks the ending, just like ein.
Masculine accusative: meinen. Dative: meinem, meiner, meinen + -n.
sein: a man or der/das noun; ihr: a woman, die noun or they.
Capital Ihr is polite "your". euer drops an e: eure.

Part 1 of 4

When you use it

1
Family and people
- Meine Eltern wohnen in Berlin.My parents live in Berlin.
- Ich besuche meine Schwester.I'm visiting my sister.
Talk about your family in every case: parents as the subject, your sister as the object, your brother after helfen (dative).
2
Documents and belongings
- Wo ist mein Reisepass?Where is my passport?
- Ich spreche mit meinem Chef.I'm talking to my boss.
At offices and in daily life, you talk about your things and people. After mit, use the dative.

The forms

Which possessive article for which owner

First choose the word that matches the owner. Each personal pronoun has its own possessive article.

Owner (pronoun)	Possessive article	Example	Meaning
ich	mein	mein Buch	my book
du	dein	dein Buch	your book (informal)
er / es	sein	sein Buch	his / its book
sie (she)	ihr	ihr Buch	her book
wir	unser	unser Buch	our book
ihr (you all)	euer	euer Buch	your book (you all)

What to notice

Capital Ihr is polite "your". Small ihr means "her" or "their"; the context tells you which.

Part 2 of 4

Step by step

1
Find the owner
Who owns it? Pick the word: mein-, dein-, sein-, ihr-, unser-, euer- or Ihr-.
2
Find case and gender of the noun
Is the noun the subject (Nominativ), the direct object (Akkusativ) or in the dative (Dativ)? Is it masculine, feminine, neuter or plural?
3
Add the ending
Add no ending, -e, -en, -em or -er. The table shows which one.
- mein Tisch, meine Tasche, meinen Tisch, meinem Buch, meiner Tasche

Part 3 of 4

Common mistakes

~~Ich helfe mein Bruder.~~
Ich helfe meinem Bruder.
helfen needs the dative. Masculine dative ends in -em: meinem.
~~Ich spreche mit meine Kollegin.~~
Ich spreche mit meiner Kollegin.
mit needs the dative. Feminine dative ends in -er: meiner.
~~Ich besuche mein Vater.~~
Ich besuche meinen Vater.
Vater is masculine and the object. Masculine accusative ends in -en: meinen.

Exceptions

Tap one to open it.

When euer takes an ending, the inner -e- drops: euer Buch, but eure Tasche, eurem Buch, euren Tischen.
- Wo ist eure Tasche?Where is your bag? (to friends)
In the dative plural, the noun also gets -n: meinen Büchern. Does the plural already end in -n or -s? Then nothing is added.
- Ich spreche mit meinen Kindern.I'm talking to my children.

Don't mix it up

Possessive article or possessive pronoun?

The possessive article stands in front of a noun. The possessive pronoun stands alone (→ P06).

Category	Form	Function	Example
Possessive article (N06)	mein, meinen, meinem	Stands in front of a noun	Das ist mein Buch.
Possessive pronoun (→ P06)	meiner, meins	Stands alone, replacing the noun	Das Buch ist meins.

sein or ihr?

The owner decides the word: a man or a der/das noun → sein; a woman, a die noun or several people → ihr. The noun decides the ending.

Paul besucht seine Mutter.Paul is visiting his mother.
Anna besucht ihren Vater.Anna is visiting her father.
Die Kinder spielen mit ihrem Hund.The children are playing with their dog.

Part 4 of 4

In real life

Meine Familie vorstellen (introducing my family)

Elena shows her colleague photos of her family in Spain. · Tap EN for English.

Elena
Das ist meine Familie auf dem Foto. Das ist mein Vater Carlos.
Kollege
Und wer steht neben deinem Vater?
Elena
Neben ihm steht meine Mutter Isabel.
Kollege
Und wer ist der junge Mann? Ist das dein Bruder?
Elena
Ja, das ist mein Bruder Mateo. Ich helfe meinem Bruder oft bei der Arbeit.
Kollege
Und die Tasche auf dem Foto? Ist das deine Tasche?
Elena
Nein, das ist die Tasche von meiner Mutter.

That's the whole topic.

Next topicPersonal pronouns in the dative

Which possessive article for which owner

The main points

When you use it

Family and people

Documents and belongings

The forms

Which possessive article for which owner

Step by step

Find the owner

Find case and gender of the noun

Add the ending

Common mistakes

Exceptions

Don't mix it up

Possessive article or possessive pronoun?

sein or ihr?

In real life

Sources