GCSE German · Words and sentences

Possessives and determiners

Mein, dein, unser and Ihr; dieser, jeder and welcher; viele, wenige, alle and einige, with their case endings.

55 GCSE-style practice questions

Learn

Possessives and determiners, explained point by point

Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.

  1. Learn the possessives

    mein (my), dein (your), sein (his, its), ihr (her, their), unser (our), euer (your, to several), Ihr (your, polite). Sein is for a male owner and ihr for a female one: Paul und sein Hund, Anna und ihr Hund.

  2. Give a possessive the endings of ein

    Possessives take the endings of ein in the singular and of keine in the plural: mein Bruder, meinen Bruder (accusative), meinem Bruder (dative), meine Schwester, meine Eltern, mit meinen Eltern.

  3. Give dieser, jeder and welcher the endings of der

    These follow the definite article: dieser Mann, diesen Mann, diesem Mann, diese Frau, dieses Kind. Jeder (each, every) works the same way: jeden Tag, jede Woche. Welcher asks which: Welches Buch liest du?

  4. Use letzter and nächster with endings

    Letzt- (last) and nächst- (next) take endings like adjectives: letzte Woche, nächstes Jahr, am nächsten Tag.

  5. Use viel, wenig, viele, wenige, alle and einige

    Viel and wenig go with things you cannot count: viel Zeit, wenig Geld. Viele, wenige, einige (some) and alle (all) go with plurals: viele Freunde, alle Schüler, mit vielen Leuten.

Possessives and determiners key terms

The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.

Possessive
A word for whose something is: mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, Ihr.
Determiner
A word before a noun that says which one or how many: dieser, jeder, viele, einige.
ein-word
A word that takes the endings of ein: kein and the possessives.
der-word
A word that takes the endings of der: dieser, jeder, welcher.
Quantifier
A word for how much or how many: viel, wenig, viele, einige, alle.

Common mistakes in Possessives and determiners

The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.

  • Using sein for a woman's things, as in Anna und sein Bruder.

    The possessive follows the owner: Anna und ihr Bruder.

  • Leaving off the accusative ending, as in Ich besuche mein Onkel.

    A masculine object adds -en: Ich besuche meinen Onkel.

  • Writing unsere for a masculine subject, as in unsere Lehrer ist nett.

    Masculine nominative has no ending: unser Lehrer ist nett.

  • Writing viel with a plural, as in viel Freunde.

    With a plural noun, use viele instead: viele Freunde.

Practice

Try a Possessives and determiners question

A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.

Which word completes the sentence? Ich gebe ___ Mutter ein Geschenk. (I'm giving my mum a present.)

  1. meine
  2. meinen
  3. meinem
  4. meiner
Show the answer and the working

Answer: meiner

Your mum receives the present, so she is the indirect object, in the dative. Mutter is feminine, so mein takes -er: meiner Mutter.

  1. Ein Geschenk is what is given: the direct object.
  2. Your mum receives it: dative.
  3. Feminine dative mein becomes meiner: Ich gebe meiner Mutter ein Geschenk.

Make Possessives and determiners stick

A free account adds worked examples from our question bank, from a warm-up to a stretch, plus ask-Wiz - a coach you can put any point from this lesson to - and a checklist that remembers which points you've studied. No card needed.

Continue learning free

Ready to practise Possessives and determiners?

Sign up free to practise this topic - questions that adapt to how you're doing, with instant encouraging feedback on every answer. No card needed.

Start practising free

Already have an account? Log in

More Words and sentences topics

Keep reading