German · A2 · Everyday language
Yours or Mine? in German
Practise finding out who owns everyday belongings. Use standalone possessive pronouns such as meiner, meine and meins to avoid repeating the name of an object.
What you'll learn
- Ask which belongings belong to someone.
- Choose possessive pronouns that match the gender and number of the object.
- Distinguish between possessives before a noun and possessive pronouns used on their own.
- Talk about belongings using mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs.
German phrases for yours or mine?
Ist das dein Bleistift? Meiner ist kürzer.
Is this your pencil? Mine is shorter.
Bleistift is masculine: der Bleistift → meiner.
Welche Jacke ist deine? Meine ist blau.
Which jacket is yours? Mine is blue.
Jacke is feminine, so use deine and meine.
Ist das dein Lesebuch? Das hier ist meins.
Is that your reading book? This one is mine.
Lesebuch is neuter: das Lesebuch → meins. Das hier means ‘this one here’.
Meine Brotdose ist hier. Wo ist deine?
My lunchbox is here. Where is yours?
Deine stands for deine Brotdose. Brotdose is feminine.
Dein Bruder braucht ein Lineal. Ist das seins?
Your brother needs a ruler. Is this his?
Sein- refers to your brother; the form seins matches the neuter noun Lineal.
Deine Schwester hat eine neue Tasche. Ist das ihre?
Your sister has a new bag. Is that hers?
Ihr- refers to your sister; the ending -e matches the feminine noun Tasche.
Ihr Fußball ist rot. Unserer ist weiß.
Their football is red. Ours is white.
Fußball is masculine: unser Fußball → unserer. Here, Ihr means ‘their’.
Unsere Turnschuhe sind trocken. Sind ihre nass?
Our trainers are dry. Are theirs wet?
Turnschuhe is plural, so use ihre with sind. Here, ihre means ‘theirs’.
Hear these phrases and practise them
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Try it free for 7 daysKey words
der Bleistift
pencil
Masculine; plural: die Bleistifte.
die Jacke
jacket
Feminine; plural: die Jacken.
das Lesebuch
reading book
Neuter; a book used for reading practice.
die Brotdose
lunchbox
Feminine; a box for packed food or snacks.
das Lineal
ruler
Neuter; plural: die Lineale.
die Tasche
bag
Feminine; plural: die Taschen.
der Fußball
football; football as a sport
Here it means the ball itself. Masculine; plural: die Fußbälle.
die Turnschuhe
trainers; sneakers
Plural; one shoe is der Turnschuh.
kürzer
shorter
The comparative of kurz (short).
trocken / nass
dry / wet
Useful opposites for talking about shoes and clothes.
Before a noun or standing alone
A standalone possessive pronoun replaces a noun that is already clear. Its form matches the gender and number of that noun, not the owner's gender.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | mein Bleistift → meiner | Mein Bleistift ist kurz. Meiner ist kurz. |
| Feminine | meine Jacke → meine | Meine Jacke ist blau. Meine ist blau. |
| Neuter | mein Lesebuch → meins | Mein Lesebuch ist hier. Meins ist hier. |
| Plural | meine Turnschuhe → meine | Meine Turnschuhe sind trocken. Meine sind trocken. |
Nominative possessive pronoun forms
Each row lists masculine, feminine, neuter and plural forms, in that order. Meins, deins, seins and ihrs are common short forms of meines, deines, seines and ihres. For ‘you’, these examples use informal German.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mine | meiner / meine / meins / meine | Meiner ist kürzer. — Mine is shorter. (der Bleistift) |
| Yours: one person | deiner / deine / deins / deine | Wo ist deine? — Where is yours? (die Brotdose) |
| His | seiner / seine / seins / seine | Ist das seins? — Is this his? (das Lineal) |
| Hers | ihrer / ihre / ihrs / ihre | Ist das ihre? — Is that hers? (die Tasche) |
| Ours | unserer / unsere / unseres / unsere | Unserer ist weiß. — Ours is white. (der Fußball) |
| Yours: several people | eurer / eure / eures / eure | Sind eure nass? — Are yours wet? (die Turnschuhe) |
| Theirs | ihrer / ihre / ihrs / ihre | Sind ihre nass? — Are theirs wet? (die Turnschuhe) |
Why nominative?
Use the nominative when the pronoun is the subject, as in ‘Mine is blue’. It is also nominative when it identifies the owner after sein (to be), as in ‘This is mine’. Use ist for singular belongings and sind for plural belongings.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Pronoun as subject | possessive pronoun + ist | Meine ist blau. — Mine is blue. |
| Identifying ownership after sein | Das ist + possessive pronoun | Das ist meins. — This is mine. |
| Plural question | Sind + plural possessive pronoun + adjective? | Sind ihre nass? — Are theirs wet? |
Hers or theirs?
German uses the same possessive forms for ‘hers’ and ‘theirs’. The conversation tells you which owner is meant. An initial capital in Ihr Fußball simply follows the normal rule for the start of a sentence.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One female owner | ihre = hers | Deine Schwester sucht ihre Tasche. Ist das ihre? |
| Several owners | ihre = theirs | Die Kinder suchen ihre Turnschuhe. Sind das ihre? |
More examples
Ist das mein Bleistift? Nein, deiner ist hier.
Is this my pencil? No, yours is here.
Deiner replaces the masculine noun Bleistift.
Welche Brotdose ist seine? Seine ist rot.
Which lunchbox is his? His is red.
Even for a male owner, use seine because Brotdose is feminine.
Unser Lineal ist hier. Wo ist eures?
Our ruler is here. Where is yours?
Eures refers to a neuter object belonging to two or more people you are addressing informally.