mein/dein/sein

Possessive Pronouns Singular

Level 1

Possessive determiners tell us who owns something. In German, the word stem depends on the possessor (owner), while the ending depends on the possessed noun (the object).

How It Works

To use these correctly, follow two steps:

1. Choose the Stem:

  • mein- (owner: ich)
  • dein- (owner: du)
  • sein- (owner: er/es)
  • ihr- (owner: sie - feminine singular OR sie - plural 'they')
  • unser- (owner: wir)
  • euer- (owner: ihr - plural 'you all')
  • Ihr- (owner: Sie - formal)

2. Add the Ending:
The ending must match the gender and case of the noun that follows. Like the ein-pattern, they have no ending in the Masculine Nominative, Neuter Nominative, and Neuter Accusative.

Special Spelling: When you add an ending to euer (like -e or -en), the middle 'e' is dropped: euer + e = eure.

The 'ihr' Ambiguity: Note that ihr can mean 'her', 'their', or (if capitalized) 'your' (formal). You must look at the context of the sentence to know who the owner is.

Examples (6)

  1. Mein Hund ist groß.

    My dog is big.

    Word by Word: My dog is big.

    'Hund' is masculine nominative, so 'mein' has no ending.

  2. Ist das dein Buch?

    Is that your book?

    Word by Word: Is that your book?

    'Buch' is neuter nominative, so 'dein' has no ending.

  3. Sie sucht ihren Schlüssel.

    She is looking for her key.

    Word by Word: She seeks her key.

    'Schlüssel' is masculine and the direct object (accusative), so we add the -en ending to the stem 'ihr-'.

  4. Wo ist eure Mutter?

    Where is your (plural) mother?

    Word by Word: Where is your mother?

    When adding the feminine ending -e to 'euer', the internal 'e' is dropped, resulting in 'eure'.

  5. Unser Haus ist alt.

    Our house is old.

    Word by Word: Our house is old.

    'Haus' is neuter nominative, so 'unser' has no ending.

  6. Die Kinder suchen ihre Spielzeuge.

    The children are looking for their toys.

    Word by Word: The children seek their toys.

    Here 'ihre' means 'their' because the owner is plural (die Kinder).

Common Mistakes

  • Adding an -e ending to masculine nominative nouns.

    Meine Hund ist hier.
    Mein Hund ist hier.

    Just like 'ein', possessives have no ending for masculine nominative nouns. 'Meine' would be feminine or plural.

  • Using 'ihr' (her) for neuter possessors like 'das Mädchen'.

    Das Mädchen und ihr Buch.
    Das Mädchen und sein Buch.

    Grammatically, 'Mädchen' is neuter. Therefore, careful standard German uses the grammatical gender (sein), not the natural gender. You may still hear 'ihr' in speech.

  • Forgetting the -en ending in the accusative case for masculine nouns.

    Ich liebe mein Vater.
    Ich liebe meinen Vater.

    When a masculine noun is the direct object, the possessive must take the -en ending.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

mein/dein/seinLevel 1Possessive Pronouns Singular

Learn This First

To use possessive pronouns, you must understand which personal pronoun they relate to and how to adjust their endings based on the gender of the following noun, similar to how indefinite articles function.

Words in This Pattern

sein