Den Kindern ist es zu heiß/kalt.
It is too hot/cold for the children.Der Wein ist meinem Mann zu süß.
The wine is too sweet for my husband’s taste.Ist Ihnen das Essen noch warm genug?
Is the food still warm enough for you? See also 12.5 (p. 18), 42.3j (p. 116) and 42.3k (p. 117); for adjectives with the genitive see
20.3 (p. 32).The dative with zu and genug is often replaced by für + accusative:Das Essen ist für mich zu salzig.
The food is too salty for me.20 The genitive
The genitive case is nowadays less common in spoken German, where the use of
prepositions tends to be preferred. Thus, ‘Mr Zeiler’s old car’ would more likely be
das alte Auto von Herrn Zeiler than das alte Auto des Herrn Zeiler. In the written
language, however, the genitive is still very widely used. The normal position for the
genitive in modern German is after the noun it relates to. It is used:20.1 To denote possession:
Die neue Wohnung meiner Schwester ist ganz schön.
My sister’s new flat is really nice.Kennst du Helmuts Freundin? (or die Freundin von Helmut)
Do you know Helmut’s girlfriend?Wart ihr schon in Herrn Schmidts Büro? (or im Büro von Herrn
Schmidt)
Have you been in Mr Schmidt’s office?Ich fahre mit Frau Schmidts Auto. (or dem Auto von Frau Schmidt)
I’ll go in Mrs/Ms Schmidt’s car.Das Schloss der Habsburger finde ich hässlich.
I think the Habsburgs’ castle is ugly.Ich liebe die Schlösser Frankreichs/Frankreichs Schlösser.
I love French castles.20.2 After collective nouns or nouns denoting proportion:
Er hat eine große Sammlung deutscher Bierdeckel.
He has a large collection of German beer mats.Ich unterrichte eine Klasse vierzehnjähriger Jungen.
I teach a class of fourteen-year-old boys.Die Hälfte des Geldes ist schon weg.
Half the money has already gone.20
The genitive