German Genitive Prepositions – Präpositionen mit dem Genitiv

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German Genitive Prepositions - Präpositionen mit dem Genitiv

We have talked about accusative prepositions, dative prepositions, and even two-way prepositions.

Are there genitive prepositions?

Yes, there are also prepositions that take the genitive.

However, like the genitive case in general, genitive prepositions are also dying out.

Instead of the genitive case, some of these prepositions used with the dative in colloquial speak, that is, it is limited to spoken German. In formal writing, the genitive is still used, and it would be incorrect to substitute it with the dative.

Genitive Prepositions

Here is a list of some common genitive prepositions.

  • (an)statt (instead of)
  • einschließlich (including)
  • infolge (due to)
  • trotz (despite)
  • wegen (because of)
  • außerhalb (outside of)
  • innerhalb (inside of)
  • während (during)

I will be discussing the last 3 prepositions in the list in the posts on prepositions of time and prepositions of place. These are the next two posts in the series..

But in this post, I shall cover the first 4 from the list above in slightly more detail.

 

(An)statt

Translation: instead of

Type of Sentence: Modalsätze (Alternative Begleitumstände). Indicates an alternative or another possibility.

Example: Ich kaufe anstatt eines alten Fahrrads ein neues. (I buy a new bicycle instead of an old one.)

Notes:

  • Anstatt and statt can be used interchangeably.
  • Anstatt and statt are also conjunctions: Anstatt dass Rosa die Hausaufgaben machte, sah sie fern. (Instead of doing her homework, Rosa watched TV.)

 

Einschließlich

Translation: including

Type of Sentence: Modalsätze.

Example: Der Preis einschließlich aller Nebenkosten ist €1050. (The price including all extras is €1050.)

Notes:

  • Einschließlich is also an adverb: Der Supermarkt ist geschlossen bis zum 26. Dezember einschließlich. (The supermarket is closed until 26 December inclusive.)

 

Infolge

Translation: due to, owing to

Type of Sentence: Kausalsätze. Indicates a reason or cause.

Example: Das heutige Treffen wurde infolge des schlechten Wetters abgesagt. (Today’s meeting was cancelled due to the bad weather.)

Notes:

  • Infolge is also an adverb. As an adverb, it is accompanied by the dative preposition von.

 

Trotz

Translation: despite, in spite of

Type of Sentence: Konzessivsätze. Indicates a concession.

Example: Trotz des Regens gehen sie aus. (They go out despite the rain.)

Notes:

This preposition is sometimes followed by the dative.

  • In southern Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, the dative is also used: trotz dem Regen instead of trotz des Regens.[1]
  • When the noun does not have an article or pronoun before it, the dative is commonly used: trotz allem.[1]

 

Wegen

Translation: because of, for

Type of Sentence: Kausalsätze. Indicates a reason or cause.

Example: Er wurde wegen Diebstahls festgenommen. (He was arrested because of theft.)

Notes:

  • Provides the reason for something.

As with most other genitive prepositions, the dative is used colloquially.

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