Questions tagged [possessive-pronoun]
Possessivpronomen – Questions on possessive pronouns such as mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr, and their declensions.
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Dies vs Diese - what is the rule to follow
I want to translate the sentce
These are newspapers.
Newspaper is die Zeitung, plural is die Zeitungen. Since this plural has die as an article, I thought this should be diese (because with die it’...
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votes
2
answers
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The difference between "mein" and "meine"
______ Hemden sind weiß.
This was an exercise in the Duolingo app where you had to fill in the blank, and there were two options given:
1) Mein
2) Meine
I selected
Mein
which I found to be ...
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votes
2
answers
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"Unserer" oder "Unser" als eigenständiges Subjekt
Als Beispiel folgender Zusammenhang:
"Unser Fernseher funktioniert nicht mehr."
"Unser(er) auch nicht."
Was ist hier richtig? Ich glaube, ich habe beides schon im Sprachgebrauch ...
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votes
3
answers
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Donald schreit: "Die Palme des Sieges ist unser", Warum "unser"?
In Carl Barks’ Geschichte Das harte Naturgesetz (Ehapa, Barks Library 30, 1997) springt Donald Duck in die Luft und jubelt (bevor ein Nachbar ihn im nächsten Bild leider mit einem Blumenkohl auf den ...
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3
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Difference between "ihr" and "dessen"
If I want to say: “He is their son”, which is correct:
Er ist ihr Sohn.
Er ist deren Sohn.
What is the difference (if any) between ihr and deren in the meaning of their?
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5
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Warum heißt es »mein Lebtag« und nicht »meinen Lebtag«?
Beschreibung und Beispiele
Der Ausdruck Lebtag wird in der Redewendung »mein / dein / ihr… Lebtag [nicht]« verwendet, um auszudrücken, dass etwas das ganze Leben lang oder bisher noch nie der Fall ...
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11
votes
2
answers
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Confusion with seinem and two masculine nouns in the same sentence
Recently, I wrote a short paragraph in German about my son’s visit to the doctor and that he no longer needed a plaster cast for his broken leg. I had a sentence about my son wanting to keep the cast ...
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votes
3
answers
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Is "ein Herz wie das meine" an antiquated or colloquial use of the possesive pronoun?
I am confused by the use of meine in this quote from Die Leiden des jungen Werther
Waren nicht meine übrigen Verbindungen recht ausgesucht vom Schicksal, um ein Herz wie das meine zu ängstigen?
I ...
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votes
3
answers
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Do I need to repeat the possessive pronoun for a second substantive?
If indicating my wife and child, should I say
Das sind meine Frau und Kind.
or
Das sind meine Frau und mein Kind.
The second sounds longwinded, while the first sounds more natural, but the ...
6
votes
4
answers
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"Deine Fotos" gegen "Fotos von dir"
Bekanntlich benennt ein berühmtes soziales Netzwerk (meinem ersten Endruck nach dooferweise) zwei unterschiedliche Bilderordner mit den folgenden Namen: deine Fotos und Fotos von dir. Kann man ...
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When to use which pronoun declination: mein, meiner, meine, meins, etc
I learned that a pronoun should take an ending in accordance with its gender, case, numerus, etc. whenever it refers to some noun in particular — ‘Das Auto ist meins’ for example. So in the following ...
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votes
2
answers
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Grammatikalische Korrektheit von »was ich von der eurigen Arbeitsstelle erwarte«
In einer Bewerbung möchte ich schreiben:
Das ist, im Grunde genommen, was ich von der eurigen Arbeitsstelle erwarte.
Ist dies grammatikalisch wohlgebildet? Dazu muss ich auch fragen, ob es ...
6
votes
3
answers
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Use of article instead of possessive: "die" vs "seine"?
I've been working on my German recently by reading through a book, originally in English, translated into German, and I keep coming across some phrasings that look very strange to me.
For instance, ...
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5
votes
1
answer
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The use of "-en" in a specific phrase
The phrase "meinen Befehlen" which means "my order" is used in a sentence from the movie Untergang.
From other sentences I know "mein" means "my" and "...
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3
answers
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One adjective for two singular nouns (same gender)
Here is my question. I've tried reading other threads, but I couldn't find an answer.
I have to translate this sentence:
with her typical beauty and kindness
mit ihrer üblichen Schönheit und ...
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votes
2
answers
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Why is it "in meinem Herzen"?
I came across an amazing aria called "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen". It is sung by the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), an opera by Mozart.
I don't understand why ...
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5
votes
1
answer
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“Wir kaufen ein Geschenk für unsere Tante.” – why “unsere”?
Q) Wir kaufen ein Geschenk für _____ Tante.
unserer
unsere
unseren
I came across this question on an app that I am using to practice German. I thought Option 1 is correct because Tante ...
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votes
1
answer
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Why would the pronouns in this sentence have different suffixes?
Duolingo asked me to translate the following: "is that your thigh or mine?"
I came back with "Ist das dein Oberschenkel oder mein?"
It corrected me with "Ist das dein Oberschenkel oder meiner?"
...
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5
votes
2
answers
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Understanding "aber des einen seins war blind"
The question is on the highlighted expression in this passage from Der arme Müllerbursch und das Kätzchen (1857), as collected by the Grimm brothers.
In it, three mill hands had each brought a horse ...
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5
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1
answer
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How do "attributiv" and "nicht attributiv" work?
Looking at the table for declension of "mein" on Wiktionary, it has separate tables for:
- attributiv (vor Substantiv)
- nicht attributiv, ohne Artikel
- nicht attributiv, mit Artikel
Could you ...
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1
answer
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Eine männliche Giraffe und [seine|ihre] Kälber?
Heute habe ich diesen Satz auf meinem Windows 10 Lock Screen gelesen:
Interaktionen zwischen einer männlichen Giraffe und seinen Kälbern sind relativ selten.
Ist dieser Satz grammatikalisch ...
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4
votes
3
answers
437
views
Where to use or omit possessive adjectives in German vs. English
I have noticed that English tends to use possessive adjectives like "his" in situations for which German would leave them out. For example I would say "er wäscht sich die Hände" rather than "er wäscht ...
4
votes
1
answer
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Is "Wo ist dein Kamera?" correct? (usage of 'dein/deine')
I have a book which has two statements in a problem:
Du wolltest doch photographieren. Wo ist dein Kamera?
I thought dein should be changed to deine because Kamera is female. Is the second ...
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4
votes
1
answer
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When are article + possessive pronoun constructions like "Der meine ist gut" used?
While hunting for information about how to construct the German possessive pronouns equivalent to "mine", "yours" etc., I found a page on the excellent Canoo website that seemed to ...
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3
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Question regarding the appropriate pronouns for a subject with different "persons" (first, second and third)
Can someone help confirm this for me?
I think we can all agree, that when the subject consists of 2 or more persons that are referred to with the 3rd person pronouns, the subject is equivalent to the ...
user38477
4
votes
1
answer
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Anerkannte Klassifikation von Possessivpronomina im Deutschen
Ich unterrichte wieder einmal Deutsch und die Kleinen haben viele Schwierigkeiten mit den Pronomina. Ich lehre gern natürlich und ohne zu viel Grammatik, welche nicht meine Stärke ist, aber ich glaube ...
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1
answer
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"deren" vs. "ihres" to mark ownership
Under the usage of der/die/das as a demonstrative pronoun, leo.org lists the usage of dessen/deren to mark ownership clearly. As an example, the site gives -
Herr Müller geht mit Anton und seiner ...
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4
votes
2
answers
140
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Determiner before Genitivatrribut/Possessivpronomen
Recently I found an example sentence in DWDS under the entry "zugutetun":
Goethe war bis an sein Lebensende stolz auf dieses sein Jugendwerk, auf das er sich, neben dem Faust, am meisten ...
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3
votes
2
answers
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Zweideutige Possessivpronomen?
In diesen Sätzen ist nicht eindeutig was passiert:
Erich, der Dieb, und Hans sind in der Kneipe. Erich nimmt seinen Mantel und geht.
Wem gehört eigentlich der Mantel, Erich oder Hans? In einigen ...
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3
votes
1
answer
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“Das ist sein Pass.“ Is this sentence right?
Das ist sein Pass.
In this sentence, why is sein, not seinen? Pass is a masculine word. I’m a little confused!
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votes
4
answers
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Possessive pronoun in subject vs. predicate
In our first lesson we learned sentences like
Das ist mein Koffer.
Now we're learning about the accusative, and the teacher told us that for both all cases the suffix of the possessive pronoun ...
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3
votes
2
answers
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Das ist eine unsere Stärken vs unserer Stärken
Das ist eine unsere Stärken.
Das ist eine unserer Stärken.
Which is correct? And why?
Can someone please explain it to me (in English :)
Thanks in advance!
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3
votes
1
answer
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Definite article vs. possessive pronoun when indicating actions
What’s the difference between using a definite article and a possessive pronoun to indicate actions (and possibly other things, if applicable)? For example, is there any difference between using die ...
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votes
1
answer
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Is "dir" required in "Wasch deine Hände"
If I want to order my children to wash their hands, is Wasch deine Hände correct or does it require dir like in Wasch dir deine Hände.
Is this extensive to all body parts?
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votes
2
answers
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Masculine possessive adjectives ending in nominative
I am really confused if masculine nouns in nominative should take the -(e)r ending or not. Or when.
This article gives examples in nominative both with and without -er ending:
https://www.fluentu....
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When to use sein or ihr?
I am wondering if there is a rule to know when I have to use the possesive pronoun sein or ihr.
For instance:
Er liebt seine Frau sehr
Er liebt ihre Frau sehr
How does the meaning change by changing ...
2
votes
2
answers
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der Ihren – Alternative form of a possessive pronoun (ihr-) used for emphasis?
The words “der Ihren” appear in the following text from a comic book:
Person A: Der Legende nach haben jedes Jahr zwei tapfere Krieger eines
Stammes versucht, den Goldenen Fluss zu erreichen.
Person ...
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2
votes
2
answers
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Possessive pronoun after sein
Which is/are correct and why?
Der Hund ist mein.
Der Hund ist meiner.
My thinking is that only 2 is correct. If a noun follows mein-? then it's a determiner, and the masculine possessive determiner ...
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2
votes
4
answers
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Fehler bei B2-Vorbereitung Test [closed]
Ich möchte mich für die B2-Prüfung beim Goethe Institut anmelden und deshalb habe ich neulich ein Buch gekauft, damit ich mich darin üben kann.
Gestern sollte ich die folgende Übung lösen. Es ...
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votes
1
answer
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When are relative pronouns preferred to possessive pronouns and how common is this?
Question prompted by this sentence from Wikipedia:
Nach einem Überfall am 13. Mai 2014 auf einen Stoßtrupp der 7.
Infanteriedivision in der Region Chibok wurde beim anschließenden
...
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2
votes
1
answer
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Use of "ihre" vs "die ihre"
In a recent post the following sentences appeared:
Die Frau besitzt eine Gabel. Das ist ihre Gabel. Diese Gabel ist ihre.
Diese Gabel ist die ihre.
Both the sentences "Diese Gabel is ihre."...
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2
votes
1
answer
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Possesive pronomen + eins..?
Could someone explain the grammar of the amalgation of possesive pronouns with eins? For example consider the word 'euereins' source: example.
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2
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Diese Leiche und seine Umstände
I am reading "Der nasse Fisch" in German on my Kindle, (making much use of the German-English dictionary). This particular paragraph in the book confuses me:
"Diese Leiche ist perfekt! ...
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1
vote
1
answer
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Warum heißt es „ihrer“ und nicht „ihren“?
Gibt es in einer ihrer Familien eine interessante Person wie Mark?
Der Dativ ist der Fall und es müsste ihren anstatt ihrer sein, weil Familien Plural ist, oder?
Übrigens bin ich nur Niveau A2.1, ...
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1
vote
1
answer
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How could sein be the correct possessive in this case?
In conversation with 2 native German speakers I wanted to say:
The very sight of him rattled me.
So I said:
Der bloße Anblick von ihm erschreckte mich.
Whereupon they called that sentence ...
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1
vote
2
answers
367
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Why "meinem" is used in "Er glaubt meinem Kind"?
I saw this sentence in Duolingo. Is this supposed to be dative? If so, why?
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1
vote
2
answers
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Unseren vs. unsern vs. unsren
Part of this question already exists on Reddit, but I thought it would be worth asking again here because it might produce some more reliable and complete answers. In Wiktionary's declension table (...
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1
vote
1
answer
452
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In "Was isst du am liebsten", what's the explanation of "du am liebsten", instead of "deine am liebsten"?
I've just started to learn German, and I encountered this sentence:
Was isst du am liebsten?
The translation, according to he video that I'm learning from, is
What's your favourite food?
But ...
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1
vote
1
answer
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possessive articles in a puzzle
I have a puzzle about possessive article here that made me a little confused. There are three dogs Bello, Max and Rex, according to these sentences, Bello is masculine and Max is Feminine, but what ...
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1
vote
1
answer
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Which possessive pronoun should follow 'Kind' (female) or 'Mädchen' - feminine or neuter? Das Mädchen hat ihren (oder seinen) Hut verloren? [duplicate]
Older texts would use the appropriate grammatical gender for possessive pronouns, eg,
'Das Weib hat seinen Hut verloren.'
Is this still the best usage, or should we now use the natural gender, ie,
'...
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