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Peters Sohns Lieblingstier ist die Giraffe

I'm studying with Duolingo, and from what I understand so far, the possessive form can be expressed with either "von" or "'s", and the two forms are equivalent.

The sentence I quoted is marked as incorrect. Is there a grammatical reason behind this? Or is it equivalent to the solution proposed as correct (Das Lieblingstier von Peters Sohn ist die Giraffe)

Paolo
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    This is an example of the double genitive, I believe. It is just not pretty, but in my memory, it was correct but should be avoided. – EagleFliesBanana Dec 16 '22 at 19:15
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    The von preposition and the genitive case are not entirely equivalent; there are circumstances where one is definitely preferred over the other. The situation is similar to the way the "of" preposition and the possessive case have similar meanings in English, but are not completely interchangeable. Of course German and English don't necessarily agree on when to use a preposition and when to use the genitive/possessive case. Also note that genitive case in German is more complex than the possessive case in English; you don't just tack an 's' on the end without thinking about it. – RDBury Dec 16 '22 at 21:58

2 Answers2

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I can't recognize a hard rule (e. g. a limit concerning the number of subsequent genitives), which is violated by your example. It is surely no good style, since in the generic case it may be ambiguous, how the reference is intended.

Consider

Peters Sohns Lieblingstieres Ohren sind lang.

So your sentence would likely be understood correctly but appear ugly.

guidot
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Use the -s variant only with well established first names and to some extent, surnames and place names. It's not incorrect to apply it to other names and nouns as well but considered bad style.

1. FC Kölns Abwehr war heute klasse.

Not okay, because that piece 1. FC is an ordinary noun: 1. Fußballclub. You can heal that

Kölns Abwehr war heute klasse.

and leave it to the listener to find out from context what is meant by Köln.

There's a gray area:

Werder Bremens Abwehr war heute klasse.

Okay. Though Werder is an ordinary noun as well. That is because that noun is very uncommon. If you ask a German native speaker what a Werder is, they likely don't know it but think you mean that particular football club.

Werders Abwehr war heute klasse.

Oh, and the alternative isn't von but appending the geninitive.

Die Abwehr des 1. FC Köln war heute klasse.

Again, you should use von instead of the genitive for well established names:

Das Lieblingstier des Sohns des Peter ist die Giraffe.

Das Lieblingstier des Sohns von Peter ist die Giraffe.

Janka
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    "Das Lieblingstier von Peters Sohn ist die Giraffe" klingt für mich noch einen Tacken besser und geläufiger als "...des Sohns von Peter..." – planetmaker Dec 16 '22 at 17:58