Genitivsubstantiven

Genitivsubstantiven refers to nouns used in the genitive case. The genitive case in German, like in some other languages, primarily indicates possession or belonging. It answers the question "wessen?" (whose?). For example, in the sentence "Das ist das Auto meines Vaters," "meines Vaters" is the genitive form of the noun "Vater" (father), showing that the car belongs to the father.

The genitive case is typically formed by adding an -s to masculine and neuter singular nouns, and often an -es for pronunciation ease. Feminine nouns do not change their form in the genitive singular. Plural nouns also do not change their form in the genitive case, but their preceding article or possessive pronoun will be in the genitive. For instance, "die Bücher der Kinder" (the books of the children).

While possession is the most common function, the genitive case can also express other relationships, such as origin or cause. It is also used after certain prepositions like "wegen" (because of), "trotz" (despite), and "während" (during). For example, "wegen des schlechten Wetters" (because of the bad weather). The genitivsubstantiven is an important grammatical element for conveying specific meanings related to relationships and circumstances within a sentence.