Possessive articles in German (mein, dein, sein…)

Possessive words say who something belongs to. Each one has a fixed base (mein = my, dein = your…) and then takes the same endings as ein/kein, matching the gender and case of the thing owned — not the owner.

Endings follow the noun

• mein Vater (m)

  my father

  masculine nom. → no ending

• meine Mutter (f)

  my mother

  feminine → -e

• mein Kind (n)

  my child

  neuter nom. → no ending

• meine Eltern (pl)

  my parents

  plural → -e

• Ich sehe meinen Vater.

  I see my father.

  masc. accusative → -en

• ✗Das ist meine Vater.

  ✓Das ist mein Vater.

  Masculine nominative takes no ending.

• ✗Ich liebe mein Mutter.

  ✓Ich liebe meine Mutter.

  Feminine needs -e: meine.