Forum Rocket German German Grammar Possible error in genitive (lesson 9.12)

Possible error in genitive (lesson 9.12)

Peter--252

Peter--252

In lesson 9.12 (A Case in point - Genitive) it gives an example in the audio tracks as
                                                                            der Lehrer                        des Lehrers       
with the translation underneath:         the teacher                      of the teachers

but shouldn't that be "of the teacher", i.e. singular?
The "s" on the end of some nouns in the genitive is a little trap for English speakers ! 
This is repeated in the "Know it" test, and I think in the other reinforcement tests as well.
I think (please correct me if I'm wrong) that "of the teachers" would be  "der Lehrern" or "der Lehreren".
Julia-Rocket-German-Tutor

Julia-Rocket-German-Tutor

Hi Peter--252,

you are absolutely right, the correct translation for "des Lehrers" should be "of the teacher". I will pass this on to get corrected in the lesson. 

The plural form in the genitive case would be "der Lehrer" - "of the teachers".

Viele Grüße
Julia
 
Peter--252

Peter--252

Hi Julia.

I thought that "Lehrer" might change in form as otherwise "der Lehrer" could be nominative singular or genitive plural.
I suppose it will never be ambiguous in context, and if the genitive is rarely used in spoken German it won't be a problem.

Vielen Dank!
Peter
Julia-Rocket-German-Tutor

Julia-Rocket-German-Tutor

Hi Peter--252,

yes, the context will give you an indication which form is being used. The genitive case is usually replaced by the dative case in spoken German. 

Viele Grüße 
Julia

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