Genitive Prepositions

Some prepositions in German require the Genitive case. These are more common in formal or written German, but you should still know them.

1. Common Genitive Prepositions

Preposition	Meaning	Example
während	during	Während des Urlaubs hat es viel geregnet. → It rained a lot during the vacation.
wegen	because of	Wegen des schlechten Wetters bleiben wir zu Hause. → Because of the bad weather, we are staying home.
trotz	despite	Trotz des Regens gehen wir spazieren. → Despite the rain, we are going for a walk.
anstatt / statt	instead of	Statt des Autos nehme ich das Fahrrad. → Instead of the car, I take the bike.
innerhalb	inside of, within	Innerhalb einer Woche lernte sie viel. → Within a week, she learned a lot.
außerhalb	outside of	Außerhalb der Stadt ist es ruhiger. → Outside the city it is quieter.

2. Notes

💡 In **spoken German**, people often replace the Genitive with **Dative**:
→ Wegen dem Wetter (spoken) instead of Wegen des Wetters (correct written).
But in exams and formal writing, always use **Genitive**.

3. More Examples

Während des Sommers arbeite ich viel. → During the summer I work a lot.

Trotz der Probleme war er glücklich. → Despite the problems, he was happy.

Wegen des Verkehrs kam ich zu spät. → Because of the traffic, I was late.

← Previous Topic: Passiv Back to B1 Topics Next Topic → Partizip I