This deep dive covers Die Possessivartikel — Possessives within Negation (nicht, kein) and possessives (mein, dein, sein) for GCSE German. Revise Negation (nicht, kein) and possessives (mein, dein, sein) in Core Grammar Toolkit for GCSE German with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 3 of 5 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
📋 Die Possessivartikel — Possessives
Possessives say who owns something. They sit in front of the noun and decline like ein and kein.
| Possessive | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mein | my |
| dein | your (informal) |
| sein | his / its |
| ihr | her / their |
| unser | our |
| euer | your (plural) |
| Ihr | your (formal) |
They take the same endings as ein/kein: mein Bruder, meine Schwester, mein Auto, and meinen Bruder in the accusative (masculine).
Ich habe keine Zeit, weil ich meine Hausaufgaben mache.
I have no time, because I am doing my homework.
- keine Zeit — kein negates the noun Zeit (die Zeit, feminine), so the ending is keine.
- meine Hausaufgaben — possessive in front of a plural noun (die Hausaufgabe, die Hausaufgaben) takes -e.
Das ist nicht mein Bruder, das ist mein Cousin.
That is not my brother, that is my cousin.
- nicht negates the whole phrase mein Bruder — you are not negating a bare noun, so it is nicht, not kein.
- mein Bruder / mein Cousin — possessive with a masculine noun in the nominative (der Cousin, die Cousins) has no ending.
Practice questions for Negation (nicht, kein) and possessives (mein, dein, sein)
Which sentence correctly negates 'Ich spiele Gitarre' (I play the guitar)?
Which word correctly completes: 'Ich habe ___ Zeit.' (I have no time.)?