Genitive endings on the definite article
We can now construct the full case endings tables for the articles and determiners that we have encountered so far. Below are the case endings for the definite article for the three genders - masculine (masc.), feminine (fem.), neuter (neut.) - and for the plural:

Case endings for the indefinite article
The genitive endings for the indefinite article "ein" are the same as those for the definite article. There is of course no plural form.

Remember that "kein" (= not a) declines in the same way as "ein":

Examples
Note the endings on the indefinite articles in the following sentences:

• Wir wohnen im Seitenflügel eines Altbaus.
  (We live in the side wing of an old building.)
• Statt einer neuen Straße gibt es hundert neue Bahnhöfe.
  (Instead of one new street there are a hundred new train stations.)
• Sport ist die Lösung keines Problems.
  (Sport is not the solution to any problem.)

The endings of possessive determiners
When used as determiners, the possessives ("mein", "dein", "sein", "ihr", "Ihr" etc.) have the same endings as the indefinite article. The table below gives the endings for "ihr" (= her; their):

Examples
Note the endings on the possessives in the following sentences:

• Während meines Sommerkurses habe ich ein Zimmer im Wohnheim.
  (During my summer course I have a room in the halls of residence.)
• Das Zimmer ist wegen ihres Auslandaufenthalts zu vermieten.
  (The room is available due to her stay abroad.)
• Hier ist der Couchtisch seiner Freundin.
  (This is his girlfriend's coffee table.)

The "-er" of "unser" (= our) and "euer" (= your) is part of the stem and not an ending. The endings are attached to this stem as in the table below:

When "euer", the informal version of the second person plural "you", has endings, the "-e-" of the stem is usually dropped in both spoken and written German.

Examples
Note the endings on the possessives in the following sentences:

• Statt unserer Wohnung hat er ein Atelier gekauft.
  (He bought a studio instead of our flat.)
• Das ist das Schlafzimmer unseres Sohnes.
  (This is our son's bedroom.)
• Trotz eures unordentlichen Zimmers dürft ihr Fußball spielen.
  (You can play football despite your untidy room.)
• In eurer Garage gibt es im Moment kein Auto.
  (There isn't a car in your garage at the moment.)

"dieser" and other determiners
The "-er" of "dieser" (= this) is an ending and not part of the stem and not an ending. It thus declines as in the table below:

Other determiners that form endings in a similar way are jener (= that), welcher (= which?), jeder (= each) and the plural determiners alle (= all) and viele (= many):

• Wegen dieser langen Wartezeiten werde ich langsam verrückt.
  (I'm gradually going mad due to these long waiting times.)
• Trotz dieses Wetters fahren wir in den Urlaub.
  (We're going on holiday despite this weather.)
• Trotz aller Probleme freuen sie sich auf die Zukunft.
  (Despite all their problems they are looking forward to the future.)
• Wegen vieler Schwierigkeiten ist das nicht mehr möglich.
  (Due to a number of difficulties that is no longer possible.)

Chapter 12.12: The imperative of reflexive verbs

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