genitivplural

Genitivplural, or Genitiv Plural, is the genitive case used for plural nouns in German. It marks possession, association, or a relationship between multiple items, similar to the English “of the …” when referring to more than one thing. The form is the same for all genders in the plural.

In standard German, the definite article for genitive plural is der. The noun itself typically remains in its plural form, and no additional genitive ending is added to the noun. For example, die Bücher (the books) becomes der Bücher (of the books). The structure is therefore der + plural noun, with the noun unchanged in many common plural nouns. The indefinite article has no plural form, so genitive usage with indefinites relies on other structures or phrases.

Usage notes: The genitivplural is common in formal writing and careful speech. In everyday spoken German, possession is often expressed instead with von + dative, such as die Farbe von den Autos (the color of the cars) rather than die Farbe der Autos, though the latter is widely accepted and preferred in written style. Some nouns with strong plural endings or loanwords follow the same rule, with der preceding their standard plural form. Possessive pronouns or proper names can also convey possession: die Geschichte der Studenten, das Verhalten der Lehrer.

Examples:

- Die Farbe der Autos ist rot.

- Das Kapitel der Bücher handelt von Grammatik.

- Die Türen der Häuser sind offen.