German · A2 · Everyday language
Yours Beside Mine in German
Practise noticing whose things are nearby during your baby's day. Use standalone possessive pronouns such as meiner, meine and meins to avoid repeating the name of an object. All forms of “your” in the phrases address one person informally.
What you'll learn
- Ask whose everyday belongings you can see.
- Say mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs in German.
- Choose possessive pronoun endings that match the German noun being replaced.
- Use nominative possessive pronouns as the subject of a sentence.
German phrases for yours beside mine
Ist das dein Löffel? Meiner ist hier.
Is this your spoon? Mine is here.
Löffel is masculine: der Löffel → meiner.
Ist das meine Decke? Deine liegt auf dem Bett.
Is this my blanket? Yours is on the bed.
Decke is feminine: die Decke → deine. Liegt is natural for something lying on a bed.
Ist das dein Buch? Meins ist da drüben.
Is this your book? Mine is over there.
Buch is neuter: das Buch → meins.
Das ist Papas Tasse. Seine ist blau.
That is Dad's cup. His is blue.
Sein- refers to Dad; the ending -e matches the feminine noun Tasse.
Das ist Mamas Tasche. Ihre ist grün.
That is Mum's bag. Hers is green.
Ihr- refers to Mum; the ending -e matches the feminine noun Tasche.
Ist das unser Kinderwagen? Unserer steht neben der Tür.
Is this our pram? Ours is by the door.
Kinderwagen is masculine: der Kinderwagen → unserer. Steht is natural for a pram's location.
Sind das deine Socken? Meine sind größer.
Are these your socks? Mine are bigger.
Socken is plural, so use meine with sind, not ist.
Ist das ihre Babybadewanne? Ihre ist weiß.
Is that their baby bath? Theirs is white.
Babybadewanne is feminine, so “theirs” is ihre. Context tells us that ihr- means “their” here.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Löffel
spoon
Masculine; “mine” is meiner.
die Decke
blanket
Feminine; “yours” is deine when speaking to one person informally.
das Buch
book
Neuter; “mine” is meins.
die Tasse
cup
Feminine; “his” is seine.
die Tasche
bag
Feminine; “hers” is ihre.
der Kinderwagen
pram; stroller
Masculine; “ours” is unserer.
die Socke; die Socken
sock; socks
For plural socks, “mine” is meine.
die Babybadewanne
baby bath; baby bathtub
Feminine; “theirs” is ihre.
Replacing a noun with “mine”
Before a noun, use a possessive determiner: mein Löffel. When the noun is understood, use a standalone possessive pronoun: meiner. Its ending matches the gender and number of the thing, not the owner. In these examples, the pronoun is the subject, so it is nominative.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | mein Löffel → meiner | Meiner ist hier. — Mine is here. |
| Feminine singular | meine Decke → meine | Meine liegt auf dem Bett. — Mine is on the bed. |
| Neuter singular | mein Buch → meins | Meins ist da drüben. — Mine is over there. |
| Plural | meine Socken → meine | Meine sind größer. — Mine are bigger. |
Forms for different owners
Each row lists masculine, feminine, neuter and plural nominative forms, in that order. Meins, deins and similar short neuter forms are common in everyday speech. Ihr- can mean either “her” or “their”; context identifies the owner.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mine | meiner, meine, meins, meine | Meins ist hier. — Mine is here. (Buch) |
| Yours: one person, informal | deiner, deine, deins, deine | Deine liegt auf dem Bett. — Yours is on the bed. (Decke) |
| His | seiner, seine, seins, seine | Seine ist blau. — His is blue. (Tasse) |
| Hers | ihrer, ihre, ihrs, ihre | Ihre ist grün. — Hers is green. (Tasche) |
| Ours | unserer, unsere, unseres, unsere | Unserer steht neben der Tür. — Ours is by the door. (Kinderwagen) |
| Theirs | ihrer, ihre, ihrs, ihre | Ihre ist weiß. — Theirs is white. (Babybadewanne) |
Singular and plural verbs
Use ist with one thing and sind with several things. German also often uses liegt for something lying somewhere and steht for something standing or parked somewhere.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One thing | singular pronoun + ist | Meiner ist hier. — Mine is here. |
| Several things | plural pronoun + sind | Meine sind größer. — Mine are bigger. |
| Location | singular pronoun + liegt / steht | Deine liegt auf dem Bett. — Yours is on the bed. |
More examples
Dein Löffel ist hier. Meiner ist da drüben.
Your spoon is here. Mine is over there.
Use dein before Löffel, but meiner without the noun.
Mein Buch ist hier. Deins liegt auf dem Bett.
My book is here. Yours is on the bed.
Deins replaces the neuter noun Buch.
Das sind Papas Socken. Seine sind größer.
Those are Dad's socks. His are bigger.
Seine replaces plural Socken, so the verb is sind.