I can name my relatives and those of the person I'm talking to — say “my brother”, “your sister”, “his daughter”, and the formal “your son” in the right form — and ask about them.
My, your, his, her: family words
My, your, his, her: family words
A possessive (mein, dein, sein…: my, your, his…) says whose relative this is: Das ist meine Mutter.
The whole set is in the first table: mein (my), dein (your, informal), sein (his), ihr (her), unser (our), euer (your, you all, informal), ihr (their), Ihr (your, formal, always with a capital I).
English “my” never changes; German adds an ending. Before a der- or das-word there is no ending: mein Bruder, mein Kind. Before a die-word, add -e: meine Schwester. The same for all eight: deine, seine, ihre, unsere, Ihre.
Two traps. sein is both the verb “to be” and “his”: its place in the sentence tells you which (Er ist müde and sein Bruder). ihr means “you” (to several people), “her”, and “their”; Ihr with a capital is formal “your”.
euer drops the middle e before a die-word: euer Vater, but eure Mutter.
To say you have someone, use three set phrases: Ich habe einen Bruder (a der-word), Ich habe eine Schwester (die), Ich habe ein Kind (das). Learn them as three phrases; module 3 explains the rule.
One more thing: die Frau means both “woman” and “wife” (meine Frau), and der Mann both “man” and “husband”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “mein Schwester” — meine Schwester.
• NOT “meine Vater” — mein Vater.
• NOT “euere Mutter” — eure Mutter.
• NOT “Ich habe ein Bruder” — Ich habe einen Bruder.
• NOT “Lena und sein Bruder” — if he's Lena's brother, ihr Bruder.
Possessives in the Nominativ (the nominative)
Before a die-word, add -e; euer then drops the e in the middle.
| Who | Before a der- or das-word | Before a die-word |
|---|---|---|
| ich — my | mein Vater | meine Oma |
| du — your (informal) | dein Sohn | deine Schwester |
| er — his | sein Kind | seine Mutter |
| sie (she) — her | ihr Bruder | ihre Familie |
| wir — our | unser Sohn | unsere Familie |
| ihr (you, to several people) — your | euer Opa | eure Schwester |
| sie (they) — their | ihr Vater | ihre Oma |
| Sie (formal) — your (formal) | Ihr Bruder | Ihre Tochter |
The immediate family
das Kind — child, neuter; die Familie — family.
| Man | Woman |
|---|---|
| der Vater | die Mutter |
| der Sohn | die Tochter |
| der Bruder | die Schwester |
| der Opa | die Oma |
| der Mann (husband) | die Frau (wife) |
Lesson notes
My, your, his, her: family words
A possessive (mein, dein, sein…: my, your, his…) says whose relative this is: Das ist meine Mutter.
The whole set is in the first table: mein (my), dein (your, informal), sein (his), ihr (her), unser (our), euer (your, you all, informal), ihr (their), Ihr (your, formal, always with a capital I).
English “my” never changes; German adds an ending. Before a der- or das-word there is no ending: mein Bruder, mein Kind. Before a die-word, add -e: meine Schwester. The same for all eight: deine, seine, ihre, unsere, Ihre.
Two traps. sein is both the verb “to be” and “his”: its place in the sentence tells you which (Er ist müde and sein Bruder). ihr means “you” (to several people), “her”, and “their”; Ihr with a capital is formal “your”.
euer drops the middle e before a die-word: euer Vater, but eure Mutter.
To say you have someone, use three set phrases: Ich habe einen Bruder (a der-word), Ich habe eine Schwester (die), Ich habe ein Kind (das). Learn them as three phrases; module 3 explains the rule.
One more thing: die Frau means both “woman” and “wife” (meine Frau), and der Mann both “man” and “husband”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “mein Schwester” — meine Schwester.
• NOT “meine Vater” — mein Vater.
• NOT “euere Mutter” — eure Mutter.
• NOT “Ich habe ein Bruder” — Ich habe einen Bruder.
• NOT “Lena und sein Bruder” — if he's Lena's brother, ihr Bruder.