genitive
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genitive
A grammatical case (the 2nd case) in the German language that mainly expresses possession or origin. It is identified with the question 'Wessen?' (whose?).
Der Ausdruck „der Hund des Mannes“ enthält ein Substantiv im Genitiv.
The expression 'der Hund des Mannes' (the man's dog) contains a noun in the genitive.
A noun in the genitive that indicates possession usually stands directly after the noun it belongs to.
Die Farbe des Himmels ist heute besonders schön.
The color of the sky is especially beautiful today.
Some important prepositions always require the genitive. These include 'während' (during), 'trotz' (despite), 'wegen' (because of), and 'statt' (instead of).
Trotz des schlechten Wetters machten wir einen Spaziergang.
Despite the bad weather, we went for a walk.
The genitive is used especially in written language and in formal contexts. In everyday spoken language, it is often replaced by a construction with 'von' + dative.
Das ist das Auto von meinem Vater.
That is my father's car.
Especially with the preposition 'wegen' (because of), the dative is often used incorrectly in colloquial speech. Although you often hear 'wegen dem Stau', the correct standard-language form is 'wegen des Staus' (because of the traffic jam).
Wegen des starken Regens wurde das Spiel abgesagt.
Because of the heavy rain, the game was canceled.
dative
After prepositions such as „wegen“, both the dative and genitive can occur. In standard German, the genitive is usually used, while the dative is especially common regionally or in everyday spoken language. In formal writing, therefore, use „wegen“ with the genitive; the dative sounds more casual or regional.
Wegen des starken Regens kam der Bus heute etwas später.
Because of the heavy rain, the bus arrived a little later today.
Wegen dem starken Regen kam der Bus heute etwas später.
Because of the heavy rain, the bus arrived a little later today.
