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Adjectives with a genitive object, like 'sich dessen bewusst sein'

In English you are aware of a risk, sure of a fact and guilty of a crime. In each case, of links the adjective to its object. German uses no preposition here. A small group of adjectives takes its object directly in the genitive case: sich des Risikos bewusst sein, sich dessen sicher sein, des Mordes schuldig sein.

This catches English speakers in two ways. The first is the reflex to translate of as von, which gives the incorrect bewusst von dem Problem. The second is forgetting the dative reflexive pronoun that bewusst, sicher and gewiss need: Ich bin mir dessen bewusst. These structures sound formal, but you meet them constantly in news, legal language and careful speech.

Word list
müdeA1 tired einer Sache müde sein = to be tired of sth gewissA2 sure sich (Dat.) einer Sache gewiss sein = to be certain of sth sicherA2 sure sich (Dat.) einer Sache sicher sein = to be sure of sth bewusstB1 aware sich (Dat.) einer Sache bewusst sein = to be aware of sth mächtigB1 powerful einer Sache mächtig sein = to have command of sth (a language) schuldigB2 guilty einer Sache schuldig sein = to be guilty of sth verdächtigB2 suspicious einer Sache verdächtig sein = to be suspected of sth (an offence)
How it works

The genitive object usually comes before the adjective, and the verb is normally sein. Where English says be + adjective + of + noun, German says sein + genitive noun + adjective. There is no preposition, and the article changes to its genitive form: des, der, eines, einer.

Sie ist sich des Risikos bewusst.
(She is aware of the risk.)

The reflexive pronoun is in the dative (mir, dir, sich, uns, euch), but only the “knowing” adjectives bewusst, sicher and gewiss use it. The others link straight to the genitive with no pronoun at all. When the object is a pronoun meaning “that”, use dessen, never das or davon.

The words
Knowing and being certain: with a dative reflexive

bewusst means aware or conscious of something. sicher and gewiss both mean sure or certain, and gewiss is the more elevated of the two.

Ich bin mir der Gefahr bewusst.
(I am aware of the danger.)
Bist du dir dessen sicher?
(Are you sure of that?)
Die Mannschaft war sich des Sieges gewiss.
(The team was certain of victory.)
Guilt and suspicion: no reflexive

schuldig names the offence someone is guilty of. With the genitive, verdächtig means suspected of an offence, and the genitive names that offence.

Er wurde des Diebstahls schuldig gesprochen.
(He was found guilty of theft.)
Der Mann ist des Betrugs verdächtig.
(The man is suspected of fraud.)
Command and weariness: no reflexive, very formal

mächtig normally means powerful. With a genitive it takes a special sense: having command of something, usually a language. müde with a genitive means tired of something in the sense of fed up with it. This is literary in style.

Sie ist der deutschen Sprache mächtig.
(She has a good command of German.)
Er war des ewigen Wartens müde.
(He was tired of the endless waiting.)

Other adjectives behave the same way, for example würdig (des Vertrauens würdig), fähig (eines Verbrechens fähig), wert (nicht der Rede wert) and überdrüssig (des Lebens überdrüssig).

Watch out
No von

Ich bin mir von dem Problem bewusst is wrong. Say Ich bin mir des Problems bewusst.

Keep the reflexive with the knowing adjectives

Ich bin dessen bewusst without mir sounds incomplete. Don't add a reflexive to schuldig or verdächtig, though.

Everyday alternatives

In casual speech a dass-clause is often more natural than a genitive noun. With müde, many speakers use the accusative or es instead.

Same word, other meanings

Without a genitive, mächtig means powerful (ein mächtiger König) and verdächtig means suspicious-looking. jemandem etwas schuldig sein (dative + accusative) means to owe someone something.

Ich bin mir sicher, dass er kommt.
(I'm sure that he's coming.)
Ich bin es müde, ständig zu warten.
(I'm tired of always waiting.)
Summary

Where English says aware of, sure of or guilty of, German drops the preposition and puts the object in the genitive in front of the adjective. bewusst, sicher and gewiss also need a dative reflexive pronoun (Ich bin mir dessen bewusst). schuldig, verdächtig, mächtig and müde take the genitive on its own (des Mordes schuldig). Never use von.