SILGLOBALGlossary of
Linguistic Terms

Glossary term G

Genitive Case

Definition

Genitive case is a case in which the referent of the marked noun is the possessor of the referent of another noun.

Discussion

In some languages, genitive case may express an associative relation between the marked noun and another noun.

Examples

(English)

  • The man's foot
  • The man's brother
  • The man's singing
  • The man's book
  • The man's picture

See also

Referent Noun

Sources 6

  1. Fleming 1988, 10
  2. Crystal 1980, 161
  3. Hartmann and Stork 1972, 94–95, 180
  4. Pei and Gaynor 1954, 82, 172
  5. Anderson, S. 1985, 185
  6. Mish 1991, 511
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