The genitive, often called the possessive case in English, marks relationships such as ownership, kinship, and time. In Mara’s bike, the relationship is ownership. In Mara’s aunt, it is a family relationship.
How the English genitive is marked
- Singular noun. the driver’s seat
- Plural noun ending in s. the drivers’ lounge
- Plural noun with another ending. the children’s coats
The marker can attach to the end of a whole noun phrase. In the woman next door’s bike, ’s marks the woman next door as the possessor. See apostrophe for more on spelling possessives.
Genitive relationships beyond ownership
Yesterday’s news marks time. The bicycle’s frame shows a part–whole relationship. An of phrase can express a similar relationship, as in the frame of the bicycle. See case for the contrast between possessive, subject, and object forms.
