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German-for-English-Speakers/prepositions/genitive-prepositions.md
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Genitive Prepositions - German for English SpeakersGerman for English Speakers https://germanforenglishspeakers.com/prepositions/genitive-prepositions 2026-06-30

Genitive Prepositions - German for English SpeakersGerman for English Speakers

Genitive Prepositions

As mentioned in Section II.4, the slow death of the genitive extends to prepositions. You may hear some of the following genitive prepositions used with the dative case instead. We've noted a few where the dative is especially common.

 

English
equivalent(s)

Sample usage and notes

(an)statt

instead of

 
Statt der erwarteten Beförderung bekam er die Kündigung.
Instead of the expected promotion, he was let go.
 

abzüglich

less, minus

 
abzüglich der Unkosten...
after expenses...
 

angesichts

in view of, given

 
Angesichts der Tatsache, dass…
In view of the fact that…
 

außerhalb

outside of

 
außerhalb der Stadt
outside the city
 

bar

devoid of, barring any

 
Bar jeder Vernunft
(famous cabaret in Berlin)
"against all reason"
 

bezüglich (bzgl.)

concerning, regarding,
with respect to

 
bezüglich unseres Telefonats
regarding our phone conversation
   

binnen

within [a time period]

 
binnen einer Woche
within a/one week
 

dank

thanks to

 
dank Ihrer Hilfe...
thanks to your help...

[also frequently used in the dative]
 

einschließlich

including

 
einschließlich aller Kosten
all expenses included
 

infolge

due to, because of

 
infolge einer schweren Erkrankung
due to a serious illness
 

inmitten

in the middle/midst of

 
inmitten der Menge
in the middle of the crowd
 

innerhalb

inside of

 
innerhalb eines kleinen Kreises
within a small circle [of people]
 

mangels

for lack of (esp. legal)

 
Das Verfahren war mangels Beweisen eingestellt.
The case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
 

mittels

by means of (esp. technical)

 
mittels eines Schraubenziehers... [assembly instructions]
using a screwdriver... 
 

oberhalb

above, beyond

oberhalb des Gefrierpunktes
above the freezing point
 

unbeschadet

notwithstanding

 
unbeschadet des zuvor Gesagten...
despite/notwithstanding what was just said...

unbeschadet dessen, dass...
notwithstanding the fact that...
 

ungeachtet

in spite of

 
Ungeachtet der Drohungen des Irans will Deutschland Sanktionen.
In spite of Iran's threats, Germany wants sanctions.
 

unterhalb

below, underneath

 
unterhalb der Armutsgrenze
below the poverty line
 

unweit

not far from

 
unweit des Hotels
not far from the hotel
 

zugunsten

in favor of,
in the interests of

 
zugunsten meines Mandanten
[note weak noun]
in the interest of my client
 

trotz

despite

 
trotz des schlechten Wetters [GEN]
trotz dem schlechten Wetter [DAT]
despite the bad weather

[Native speakers disagree about whether the correct usage of "trotz" is genitive or dative. This is partly a North/South thing and partly a function of how it sounds with different nouns. We had to put it somewhere, but you can absolutely use it either way.]
 

während

during

 
Während des Semesters gelten folgende Sprechstunden...
During the semester the following office hours apply...
 

wegen

because of

 
wegen Krankheit geschlossen
closed due to illness

[Like "dank" and "trotz" this is very commonly used in the dative.]
 

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