Learn German A1 Possessive Adjectives & Adverbs Lesson 10. By the time you’re done reading this article, you’ll own German possessive adjectives ” sein” & ”ihr”! And all of this gets you one step closer to being a better German speaker and becoming fluent. Meanwhile, You will also learn German Adverbs and Adjectives in this lesson.
While, German possessive adjectives ” mein” & ”dein” are explained in detail in Learn German A1 Lesson 9.
Knowing what possessive adjectives are and how to use them is just one way to play by German grammar rules. While It is very important to use the relevant possessive adjective. For example, if you were to describe a masculine object but used the feminine possessive adjective to replace it, you could create lots of confusion.
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Table of Contents
Difference b/w Possessive Pronouns & Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjectives – like other adjectives – are used to describe a noun in a sentence. Most importantly – they describe who something belongs to.
Some common possessive adjectives that you will see include, “my”, “your”, “his”, “her” and “our”.
Possessive pronouns can look very similar at first glance to adjectives – but they have a different meaning, and are used in a different way! While they also show ownership, they can be used in place of a noun, to avoid repeating it in a sentence.
Some common possessive pronouns that you might come across include, “mine”, “yours” “his”, “hers”, and “ours”.
Introduction to ” sein ”
der Bruder = masculine noun => sein Bruder
sein Bruder: his brother
Sein Bruder arbeitet in Berlin. (His brother works in Berlin.)
Das sind Usman und sein Bruder. (This is Usman and his brother.)
die Schwester = feminine noun => seine Schwester
seine Schwester: his sister
Seine Schwester arbeitet in München. (His sister works in Munich.)
Ali und seine Schwester kommen aus Pakistan. (Ali and his sister come from Pakistan.)
die Mutter = feminine noun => seine Mutter
seine Mutter: his mother
Mari und seine Mutter leben in Berlin. (Mari and his mother live in Berlin.)
“Sein/Seine” means “his“.
| Gender of the noun | Example |
| masculine | Das sind Ali und sein Bruder Usman. (This is Ali and his brother Usman.) |
| feminine | Das sind Ali und seine Schwester Maria. (This is Ali and his sister Maria.) |
| neuter | Das sind Ali und sein Kind. (This is Ali and his child.) |
Introduction to ” ihr”
der Vater = masculine noun => ihr Vater
ihr Vater: her father
Ihr Vater arbeitet in Stockholm. (Her father works in Stockholm.)
der Bruder = masculine noun = ihr Bruder
Wo arbeitet ihr Bruder? (Where does your brother work?)
die Mutter = feminine noun => ihre Mutter
ihre Mutter: her mother
Ihre Mutter kommt aus der Türkei. (Her mother comes from Turkey.)
Maria wohnt in Berlin. Ihr Vater und ihre Mutter kommen aus Pakistan. (Maria lives in Berlin. Her father and her mother come from Pakistan.)
“Ihr/Ihre” means “her”.
| Gender of the noun | Example |
| masculine | Das sind Mari und ihr Vater. (This is Mari and her father.) |
| feminine | Das sind Mari und ihre Mutter. (This is Mari and her mother.) |
| neuter | Das sind Mari und ihr Kind. (This is Mari and her child.) |
Describe Personalities in German
Germans can be energetic, humorous, motivated, artistic, friendly and cheerful. Therefore, there are some basic German words used to describe a German person.
1): sportlich: sporty
Dein Bruder ist sportlich. (Your brother is sporty.)
unsportlich: not sporty ; This word can be broken down into: un + sport + lich.
“un” can negate some descriptive words: “sportlich” => sporty; “unsportlich” => not sporty
Ich bin unsportlich. Sport ist Mord! (I am not sporty. I hate sports!)
Bist du sportlich oder unsportlich? (Are you sporty or not?)
2): sympathisch: likeable
While, “sympathisch” has a silent “h”.
Mein Lehrer ist sympathisch. (My teacher is likeable.)
Meine Oma und mein Opa sind sehr sympathisch. (My grandma and my grandpa are very likeable.)
unsympathisch: unlikeable
Mari ist sympathisch, aber ihr Bruder ist unsympathisch. (Mari is likeable but her brother is unlikeable.)
We can make some words negative by adding “un-” to them, e.g. sportlich and sympathisch.
3): emotional: emotional
Ich bin so müde! Ich bin auch emotional. (I’m so tired! I’m also emotional.)
4): ruhig: calm
Ali ist ruhig. (Ali is calm.) The ending “-ig” as in “ruhig” is quite common in words describing people, so watch out for more words like this! While, In standard German, “-ig” as in ruhig is pronounced like -ich.
For example:
Meine Schwester ist lustig. (My sister is funny.)
Mein Vater ist wichtig. (My father is important.)
5): nervig: irritating
Meine Schwester ist nervig! (My sister is irritating!) ; The “v” in “nervig” (irritating) is pronounced like an “f“.
Meine Cousine ist ein bisschen nervig. (My cousin is a bit irritating.)
6): arrogant: arrogant
Meine Schwester ist ein bisschen arrogant. (My sister is a bit arrogant.)
7): langweilig: boring
Mein Vater ist ein bisschen langweilig. (My father is a bit boring.)
8): freundlich: friendly
Mein Großvater ist relativ freundlich. (My grandfather is relatively friendly.)
Learn German A1: describe a city & pronunciation Lesson 8
Using Adverbs in German
Intensifiers are adverbs that strengthen the meaning of other expressions and show emphasis. Words that we use in this lesson are as follows:
Ein bisschen => relativ => sehr => extrem: (a little, relatively, very, extremely)
While, the order of the words is from least to most intense, such as:
“ein bisschen” (least intense) => “relativ“=> “sehr” => “extrem” (most intense).
The Sentence structure is as follows, when we use intensifiers or adverbs:
?? Subject (Mein Cousin) – verb (ist) – intensifier (sehr) – adjective (nervig)
1): ein bisschen: a little
bisschen consists of: der “Biss” (the bite) + -chen (ending denoting smallness)
Mein Vater ist ein bisschen unsympathisch. (My father is a little unlikeable.)
Meine Cousine ist ein bisschen blöd! (My cousin is a bit stupid.)
Mein Onkel ist ein bisschen langweilig. (My uncle is a bit boring.)
2): relativ: relatively
The “v” in “relativ” (relative) is pronounced like an “f“.
Meine Tante ist relativ arrogant. (My aunt is relatively arrogant.)
Meine Großeltern sind relativ nett. (My grandparents are relatively nice.)
Mein Onkel ist relativ sympathisch. (My uncle is relatively likeble.)
Mein Bruder ist relativ sympathisch, aber ein bisschen langweilig. (My brother is relatively likeble but a bit boring.)
3): sehr: very
Mein Bruder ist sehr sympathisch. (My brother is very likeable.)
It is possible to say “super” instead of “sehr”, but it’s informal.
Meine Tochter ist sehr freundlich. (My daughter is very friendly.)
Mein Cousin ist sehr nervig. (My cousin is very irritating.)
4): extrem: extremely
Ali und sein Bruder sind extrem emotional! (Ali and his brother are extremely emotional!)
5): Extrem vs Sehr:
Meine Schwester ist extrem lustig und sehr nett. (My sister is extremely funny and very nice.)
“Extrem” is used frequently in spoken German (it’s great for adding extra detail). It is one level higher than “sehr” (very).
| Mari ist extrem nervig! (Mari is extremely irritating.) |
| Mari ist sehr nervig. (Mari is very irritating.) |
Learn German A1: hunger & thurst & useful questions Lesson 7
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