A small set of prepositions trigger the genitive case. Casual spoken German often swaps in dative instead, but genitive is expected in writing and on the exam.
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wegen | because of | Wegen des Regens bleiben wir zu Hause. |
| trotz | despite | Trotz der Kälte gingen sie spazieren. |
| während | during | Während des Meetings war er still. |
| außerhalb | outside of | Das liegt außerhalb der Stadt. |
| innerhalb | inside of, within | Bitte antworten Sie innerhalb einer Woche. |
As a conjunction (see Subordinating Conjunctions II), während introduces a full clause with the verb at the end. As a preposition, it takes a genitive noun phrase.
Preposition: Während des Meetings war er still. (During the meeting, he was quiet.)
Conjunction: Während er arbeitete, war es still. (While he was working, it was quiet.)
| Formal/written | Wegen des Wetters fällt die Reise aus. |
| Casual spoken | Wegen dem Wetter fällt die Reise aus. |
Use genitive for writing tasks and the exam; dative is common but informal in speech.
Aligned with standard Goethe-Zertifikat B1 / telc B1 exam syllabus topics.