unser

Unser is a German possessive determiner meaning "our." It denotes ownership by the speaker and at least one other person, typically including the listener, and it directly accompanies a noun. Examples include Unser Auto ist neu, Unsere Freunde kommen heute, and Das ist unser Haus.

The form inflects for gender, number, and case to agree with the noun it modifies. In nominative case, examples include unser Vater (masculine), unsere Mutter (feminine), unser Haus (neuter), and unsere Kinder (plural). In accusative case, masculine nouns take unseren Hund, while feminine and neuter forms stay as unsere Katze and unser Auto, with der Plural becoming unsere Kinder. In dative case, masculine becomes unserem Vater, feminine unserer Mutter, neuter unserem Haus, and plural unseren Kindern. In genitive, masculine of eines Vaters is unseres Vaters, feminine unserer Mutter, neuter unseres Hauses, and plural unserer Kinder. These endings reflect the noun’s gender and case, with the base "unser-" adapting accordingly.

Unlike the possessive determiner, the free pronoun uns means “us” and functionally serves as an object in a sentence (Wir kennen uns; das gehört uns). The possessive form, in contrast, always accompanies a noun and shows ownership.

Etymology and cognates: unser is inherited from the Germanic family of possessive determiners and has cognates in related West Germanic languages. It is a everyday element of German grammar, with standard forms used across dialects, though some regional pronunciation and usage may vary.