Possessive articles (mein, dein, ...)

1. What are German possessive articles?

Possessive articles answer the question: “Whose … ?”

• mein – my
• dein – your (informal, singular)
• sein – his / its
• ihr – her
• unser – our
• euer – your (informal, plural)
• ihr – their
• Ihr – your (formal, singular & plural)

In this unit you see them in the nominative (subject position):

• Das ist mein Bruder. – This is my brother.
• Das ist meine Schwester. – This is my sister.

2. One important idea: owner vs. thing

Every possessive article combines two ideas:

1. Who owns it? → person (ich, du, er, sie …)
2. What is it? → noun (gender, singular/plural, case)

In the nominative, think like this:

• Step 1 – Choose the owner form: mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, ihr, Ihr
• Step 2 – Add the correct ending for the noun:

3. Step-by-step: How to build a correct phrase

Use this mini procedure each time:

1. Find the owner (I, you, he, she, we, they, you formal).
2. Find the noun and its gender/number (der, die, das, plural).
3. Is the noun the subject? → then it is nominative (the case we use here).
4. Choose the basic possessive (mein, dein, sein …).
5. Add ending:
   – masculine/neuter: no ending
   – feminine/plural: -e

Example 1

• Sentence: “This is my boss.”
• Owner: I → mein
• Noun: der Chef → masculine, singular
• Subject? Yes: Das = this, refers to “my boss”. Nominative.
• Ending: masculine → no ending

Result: Das ist mein Chef.

Example 2

• Sentence: “These are our children.”
• Owner: we → unser
• Noun: die Kinder → plural
• Subject? Yes → nominative
• Ending: plural → -e

Result: Das sind unsere Kinder.

4. Typical pairs: compare masculine / feminine / plural

Look at how the ending changes with the same owner.

5. “euer” – a special one

euer (your, plural informal) looks a bit irregular when you add endings.

Notice: the second “e” disappears when you add -e:

• euere Schwester → eure Schwester

6. “ihr” vs. “Ihr” – very important

German uses the same sound ihr for different meanings.

• Capital I = polite you.
• Always write it with a capital letter in formal situations.

7. Very common learner mistakes (and how to avoid them)

• 1. Using -e with masculine/neuter in nominative
  Das ist meine Bruder.
  ✔ Das ist mein Bruder.
  Tip: If the noun would normally have der or das, use the basic form without -e.
• 2. Forgetting -e with feminine/plural
  Das ist mein Mutter.
  ✔ Das ist meine Mutter.
  Das sind mein Kinder.
  ✔ Das sind meine Kinder.
  Tip: If the noun would normally have die (feminine or plural), add -e.
• 3. Mixing owner and noun gender
  Some learners think “her brother” must be feminine, because of “her”. In German the noun’s gender decides the ending, not the owner.
  ✔ Das ist ihr Bruder. (her brother – Bruder is masculine → no -e)
  ✔ Das ist ihr Kind. (her child – Kind is neuter → no -e)
  ✔ Das ist ihre Schwester. (her sister – Schwester is feminine → -e)
• 4. Confusing „ihr“ and „Ihr“
  Ist das ihr Auto, Herr Müller? (looks like “her car” or “their car”)
  ✔ Ist das Ihr Auto, Herr Müller? (your car – formal)
  Tip: Formal Ihr is always written with a capital I in the middle of a sentence.

8. Quick self-check: Do I have the right form?

Use this checklist when you speak or write:

1. Who owns it?
   I / you (sg) / he / she / it / we / you (pl) / they / you (formal)?
2. Choose the base word
   mein – dein – sein – ihr – unser – euer – ihr – Ihr
3. What is the noun?
   der … / die … / das … / plural?
   → remember its gender and if it’s singular or plural.
4. Is it the subject?
   If yes → nominative → use the rules from this page.
5. Ending?
   – der / das → no ending (mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, ihr, Ihr)
   – die (fem.) / plural → -e (meine, deine, seine, ihre, unsere, eure, ihre, Ihre)
6. Formal “your”?
   Write Ihr / Ihre with a capital I.

9. What you should be able to do now

• Say and write short sentences like:
  • Das ist mein Bruder / meine Schwester / mein Kind.
  • Das sind meine Eltern / unsere Kinder / ihre Kollegen.
• Change “von + Person” into a possessive article:
  • der Bruder von mir → mein Bruder
  • die Kollegin von uns → unsere Kollegin
  • die Kinder von ihm → seine Kinder
• Use Ihr / Ihre correctly in formal questions:
  • Ist das Ihre Tochter, Frau König?
  • Sind das Ihre Eltern, Herr Weber?

If you can do this comfortably, you are ready to focus on speaking about family and relationships in your conversation class.