Genitive attributes: whose, of what and belonging

A genitive phrase links one noun to another: the entrance of the hotel, a colleague’s bag or the guests’ wishes. The relationship is not always ownership.

Ask what the phrase describes: der Eingang des Hotels specifies which entrance; die Tasche der Kollegin identifies whose bag. The head noun and its attribute have different jobs. In Wir sehen den Eingang des Hotels, sehen gives Eingang accusative, but des Hotels remains genitive.

For many masculine and neuter singular nouns, use des/eines plus a noun ending -s or -es: des Hotels, des Zimmers, des Kurses. Endings depend on the noun; do not invent an extra -s for weak nouns such as des Kollegen. This topic uses clearly specified forms, not a rule that every noun must take -es.

Feminine singular uses der/einer without a new noun ending: der Kollegin, der Schule. Genitive plural uses der: der Gäste, der Kunden. Do not import the dative plural ending from mit den Gästen into the genitive phrase der Gäste.

An ordinary personal-name possessive before a noun usually adds -s without an apostrophe: Annas Schlüssel. With a name ending in an s-type sound, the written form uses an apostrophe: Lukas’ Fahrrad. This preserves the name Lukas; Luka’s would suggest a different spelling. Special business-name spellings are outside these ordinary possession questions.

Von + dative can express the same possession: die Tasche von der Kollegin. It is not always wrong or interchangeable in every context: the full sentence and intended relationship matter. Genitives may express association, part-whole relationships or other links, not just legal ownership. Avoid long chains when a clearer sentence is possible.

Examples