These Prepositions Take the Genitive Case in German

A few German prepositions are governed by the genitive case. That is, they take an object in the genitive case.

There are only a few common genitive prepositions in German, including: (an)statt (instead of), außerhalb/innerhalb (outside/inside of), trotz (in spite of), während (during) and wegen (because of). Notice that most of the time the genitive prepositions can be translated with "of" in English. Even während can be rendered as "in the course of," as well as "during."

Other genitive prepositions include: angesichts (in view of), beiderseits (on both sides of), diesseits (this side of), jenseits (on the other side of) and laut (according to).

The genitive prepositions are often used with the dative in spoken German, particularly in certain regions. If you want to blend in with the local speakers and not sound too stuffy, you can use them in the dative also, but purists will want to learn the genitive forms.

Examples of Genitive Prepositions

In the German-English examples below, the genitive preposition is bolded. The object of the preposition is italicized.​

• Während der Woche arbeiten wir. | During the week we work.
• Trotz des Wetters fahren wir heute nach Hause. | In spite of the weather, we're driving home today.

Common Genitive Prepositions

Here is a chart featuring common genitive prepositions. 

Note: The genitive prepositions listed above are often used with the dative in spoken German, particularly in certain regions. 

Examples:

• trotz dem Wetter: in spite of the weather
• während der Woche: during the week (same as genitive)
• wegen den Kosten: because of the costs