Keep the owner and the noun separate
Amir hat eine Tasse. Das ist seine Tasse.: sein- refers to Amir; -e belongs to the feminine noun die Tasse. It does not matter that Amir is a man and the cup is feminine. Now reverse the combination: Lina hat einen Rucksack. Das ist ihr Rucksack.. ihr- refers to Lina, while the noun is masculine.
Possession includes relationships and association, not just ownership: meine Schwester, unser Kurs, Ihr Termin. Establish the reference in context before choosing a form. If ihr could refer to several people, repeat a name or group rather than expecting the ending to identify the owner.
| Owner / reference | Possessive stem |
|---|---|
| ich | mein- |
| du | dein- |
| er | sein- |
| sie (Singular) | ihr- |
| es | sein- |
| wir | unser- |
| ihr | euer- / eur- |
| sie (Plural) | ihr- |
| Sie | Ihr- |
Add the ending when a noun follows
A possessive determiner, or Possessivartikel, stands before a noun. For this common use, its endings follow the ein-word pattern. Choose the case from the sentence, then the noun’s grammatical gender and number. Do not choose the case from the owner.
Compare Mein Rucksack ist schwer with Ich suche meinen Rucksack. The owner stays “I”; the phrase changes from nominative subject to accusative object. Ich spreche mit meiner Schwester uses dative after mit. If case choice is the problem, work through the dative and accusative practice.
| Case | Masculine: der Rucksack | Neuter: das Handy | Feminine: die Tasche | Plural: die Freunde |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | mein Rucksack | mein Handy | meine Tasche | meine Freunde |
| Akkusativ | meinen Rucksack | mein Handy | meine Tasche | meine Freunde |
| Dativ | meinem Rucksack | meinem Handy | meiner Tasche | meinen Freunden |
| Genitiv | meines Rucksacks | meines Handys | meiner Tasche | meiner Freunde |
In dative plural, the noun often needs -n too: mit meinen Freunden. The genitive row is included for recognition; the genitive guide explains the noun changes. If you add an adjective, it has its own ending: mein neuer Rucksack. Use the separate adjective-ending guide for that decision.
Use a pronoun when the noun is omitted
Compare Das ist mein Rucksack with Der Rucksack dort ist meiner. The second form replaces the noun phrase rather than introducing a following noun. Masculine nominative therefore needs meiner, not bare mein. For a neuter noun: Das ist mein Handy. Das Handy dort ist meins. meines is also possible.
The table below is for standalone forms in three common cases. Apply the same distinction to other stems: dein Rucksack → deiner, dein Handy → deins. Some endings coincide with determiner endings, but the empty masculine/neuter nominative slots do not. Do not copy the first table blindly when the noun disappears.
| Case | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | meiner | meins / meines | meine | meine |
| Akkusativ | meinen | meins / meines | meine | meine |
| Dativ | meinem | meinem | meiner | meinen |
Check euer, eure and formal Ihr
The informal plural owner is ihr, with possessive euer: Ist das euer Zimmer?. Before an ending, the common forms use eur-: eure Wohnung, euren Rucksack, mit eurem Handy. Do not confuse this with ihr Zimmer, which can mean her room or their room.
Formal Sie takes capitalized Ihr-: Frau Nguyen, ist das Ihre Tasche?. The case ending still follows the noun: Ihr Termin, Ihren Termin, mit Ihrer Kollegin. Capitalization marks formal address; it does not remove agreement. An answer about yourself changes the owner: Ja, das ist meine Tasche.
Choose the stem, ending and sentence role
State the owner and the noun’s gender before each answer. Decide separately whether the noun remains in the sentence.
Amir hat eine Tasse. Das ist ___ Tasse. Choose “his”.
Show answer and reason
Das ist seine Tasse. Amir gives sein-; feminine nominative Tasse adds -e.
Lina sucht den Schlüssel. Sie sucht ___ Schlüssel. Choose “her”; der Schlüssel is singular.
Show answer and reason
Sie sucht ihren Schlüssel. Lina gives ihr-; a masculine accusative object needs -en.
Ich spreche mit ___ Bruder. Choose “my”.
Show answer and reason
Ich spreche mit meinem Bruder. mit requires dative; masculine Bruder takes meinem.
Ist das dein Handy? – Ja, das ist ___.
Show answer and reason
Ja, das ist meins. meines also works. The neuter noun is omitted, so use the standalone form.
Ihr habt ein Zimmer. Ist das ___ Zimmer?
Show answer and reason
Ist das euer Zimmer? The owner is informal plural ihr; neuter nominative before a noun has no added ending.
Ich warte vor ___ Wohnung. Say “your”, addressing several friends.
Show answer and reason
Ich warte vor eurer Wohnung. Here vor describes location and takes dative; feminine Wohnung gives -er.
Frau Nguyen, ist das ___ Termin? Use formal “your”.
Show answer and reason
Frau Nguyen, ist das Ihr Termin? Formal Ihr is capitalized; masculine nominative before Termin has no added ending.
Ich fahre mit ___ Freunden. Choose “my”.
Show answer and reason
Ich fahre mit meinen Freunden. Dative plural needs meinen, and Freunde becomes Freunden.
Ist das dein Koffer? – Ja, das ist ___.
Show answer and reason
Ja, das ist meiner. der Koffer is masculine. With the noun omitted, nominative meiner replaces the whole noun phrase.
Questions about this topic
Is sein chosen because the object is masculine?
No. The stem sein- refers to an owner represented by er or es. The ending follows the possessed noun and case: seine Tasche, sein Handy and seinen Rucksack are all possible.
Are Possessivartikel and Possessivpronomen different topics?
Some teaching materials use Possessivpronomen for both. The useful distinction is their job: mein before a noun introduces a noun phrase; meiner or meins can replace one. Check which function a table describes.
Can I use meins before a neuter noun?
Use mein Handy when Handy follows. Use meins or meines when the known neuter noun is omitted: Das Handy dort ist meins. Do not transfer that standalone -s to the determiner.
Sources and further learning
- Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache: Possessiv-Artikel
- Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache: Flexion der Pronomina
- LEO grammar: Possessivpronomen und Possessivartikel
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