Genitive construction
Encyclopedia
In grammar
, a genitive construction or genitival construction is a type of grammatical construction
used to express a relation between two nouns such as the possession
of one by another (e.g. "John's jacket"), or some other type of connection (e.g. "John's father" or "the father of John"). A genitive construction involves two nouns, the head
(or modified noun) and the dependent (or modifier noun). The dependent noun modifies
the head by expressing some property of it. For example, in the construction "John's jacket", "jacket" is the head and "John's" is the modifier, expressing a property of the jacket (it is owned by John).
By placing the dependent noun in the genitive case
This is common in languages with grammatical case
, e.g. Latin
. For example, "Cicero
's father" is expressed by pater Cicerōnis or Cicerōnis pater, where the dependent noun "Cicero" (Latin Cicerō) is placed in the genitive case (Latin Cicerōnis) and then placed either before or after the head noun (pater "father"). A similar construction occurs in formal German
: das Buch des Mannes "the man's book", where das Buch means "the book" and des Mannes is the genitive case of der Mann "the man".
similarly uses no の, e.g. Jon no chichi ジョンの父 "John's father".
In some languages, the linking word agrees in gender and number with the head (sometimes with the dependent, or occasionally with both). In such cases it shades into the "his genitive
" (see below). In Egyptian Arabic
, for example, the word bitāʕ "of" agrees with the head noun (masculine bitāʕ, feminine bitāʕit, plural bitūʕ): il-wālid bitāʕ Yaḥyā "John's father" (Yaḥyā is Arabic for "John"); il-wālida b(i)tāʕit Yaḥyā "John's mother"; il-wālidēn bitūʕ Yaḥyā "John's parents". Hindi
is similar, using kā/ke/kī, which agrees in case, gender and number with the head noun, e.g. Jŏna kā bēṭā जॉन का बेटा "John's son (dir.)", Jŏna kē bēṭē जॉन के बेटे "John's son (obl.)", Jŏna kī bēṭī जॉन की बेटी "John's daughter (dir./obl.)".
Using a clitic
For example, the English so-called "Saxon genitive
" (the "'s" modifier, as in "John's father" or "the King of Spain's house"). Note that the two genitive constructions in English (using "of" and "'s") are not synonymous. In some cases, both can be used ("John's father", "the father of John"; "the capital of the nation", "the nation's capital"), but some constructions feel natural one way, but expressed the other way will feel awkward or ungrammatical, or may even have a different meaning ("I found John's coat" but not "??I found the coat of John"; "We need to encourage the love of music" but not "??We need to encourage music's love"; "I was given two weeks' notice" but not "??I was given notice of two weeks").
The distinction between the use of a clitic and a preposition/linking word is not always clear. For example, the Japanese particle
no の "of" is normally written as a separate word, but is sometimes analyzed as a clitic
.
Using the "his genitive
In the 1600's this construction sometimes occurred in English, e.g. Ben Jonson
's play Sejanus His Fall (i.e. "Sejanus's Fall"). It is common in spoken German
, e.g. dem Mann sein Haus "the man's house" (literally "to the man, his house"). This construction can be seen as a variation of the above use of a linking word that agrees with the dependent. In some languages, this construction has shifted to the more normal situation for agreeing linking words where agreement is with the head, as in colloquial Norwegian Hilde sitt hus "Hilde's house" (lit. "Hilda its house", where the possessive pronoun agrees with the head rather than the modifier — in this case hus "house" is neuter).
In Russian
, for example, most nouns have a corresponding adjective that is declined as a normal adjective (agreeing with its head noun) but has the meaning of a genitival modifier. For example, in place of a normal construction using a noun in the genitive case:
It is also possible to use a possessive adjective, which agrees with the head in number, gender and case:
Latin
also had possessive adjectives of this sort. Sometimes these are called relational adjectives (although that term is also used for a slightly different type of adjective in Russian).
Using suffixaufnahme
This occurs in some languages, and is conceptually similar to the use of possessive adjectives. Basically, a modifying noun is marked in the genitive case, but also agrees in case, number and gender with the head — essentially, it has two case markings. This occurs in some modern languages (e.g. Dyirbal), and also in Old Georgian:
, since it is the head noun, rather than the dependent, that is marked. This is common in the Semitic languages
, where the head noun is placed in the so-called construct state and forms a close syntactic construction with a following dependent noun. For example, in Hebrew
, the noun bayit "house" assumes the special form bet in the construct state, as in bet ha-yeled "the child's house" (where ha-yeled means "the child"). Typically, the special form is shorter than the original, and no other modifier (e.g. adjective) can intervene between head and dependent. (In Biblical Hebrew, the entire construct was pronounced phonologically as a single word, with no stress on the construct-state noun; this triggered sound changes associated with unstressed syllables, which typically shortened the construct-state noun.)
Classical Arabic
has a similar construction, but the dependent noun is also placed in the genitive case
:
In this case, the word "teachers" assumes the construct-state form , and "the child" assumes the genitive case . No adjective can intervene between head and dependent. Instead, an adjective such as "good" must follow the entire construction, regardless of whether the intended meaning is "the good child's teachers" or "the child's good teachers". (Gender, number and case agreement on the adjective often distinguishes the two possibilities.)
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, a genitive construction or genitival construction is a type of grammatical construction
Grammatical construction
In linguistics, a grammatical construction is any syntactic string of words ranging from sentences over phrasal structures to certain complex lexemes, such as phrasal verbs....
used to express a relation between two nouns such as the possession
Possession (linguistics)
Possession, in the context of linguistics, is an asymmetric relationship between two constituents, the referent of one of which possesses the referent of the other ....
of one by another (e.g. "John's jacket"), or some other type of connection (e.g. "John's father" or "the father of John"). A genitive construction involves two nouns, the head
Head (linguistics)
In linguistics, the head is the word that determines the syntactic type of the phrase of which it is a member, or analogously the stem that determines the semantic category of a compound of which it is a component. The other elements modify the head....
(or modified noun) and the dependent (or modifier noun). The dependent noun modifies
Grammatical modifier
In grammar, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure; the removal of the modifier typically doesn't affect the grammaticality of the sentence....
the head by expressing some property of it. For example, in the construction "John's jacket", "jacket" is the head and "John's" is the modifier, expressing a property of the jacket (it is owned by John).
By placing the dependent noun in the genitive caseGenitive caseIn grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
This is common in languages with grammatical caseGrammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
, e.g. Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. For example, "Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
's father" is expressed by pater Cicerōnis or Cicerōnis pater, where the dependent noun "Cicero" (Latin Cicerō) is placed in the genitive case (Latin Cicerōnis) and then placed either before or after the head noun (pater "father"). A similar construction occurs in formal German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: das Buch des Mannes "the man's book", where das Buch means "the book" and des Mannes is the genitive case of der Mann "the man".
Using a preposition or other linking word
This is common in languages without grammatical case, as well as in some languages with vestigial case systems. English uses the preposition of to express many genitival constructions, e.g. "the father of John" or "the capital of the nation". Informal German prefers a preposition also, except with proper names, e.g. der Vater von meinem Freund "My friend's father" (lit. "the father of my friend") but Johanns Vater "John's father". Mandarin Chinese uses a linking word de 的, e.g. Yuēhàn de fùqīn 约翰的父亲 "John's father", where Yuēhàn means "John" and fùqīn means "father". The word de in Chinese is not a preposition (for example, Chinese prepositions precede their dependent nouns, just as in English), but rather a special particle with its own syntax (a bit like the "'s" modifier in English). JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
similarly uses no の, e.g. Jon no chichi ジョンの父 "John's father".
In some languages, the linking word agrees in gender and number with the head (sometimes with the dependent, or occasionally with both). In such cases it shades into the "his genitive
His genitive
The his genitive is a means of forming a genitive construction by linking two nouns with a possessive pronoun such as "his"...
" (see below). In Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic is the language spoken by contemporary Egyptians.It is more commonly known locally as the Egyptian colloquial language or Egyptian dialect ....
, for example, the word bitāʕ "of" agrees with the head noun (masculine bitāʕ, feminine bitāʕit, plural bitūʕ): il-wālid bitāʕ Yaḥyā "John's father" (Yaḥyā is Arabic for "John"); il-wālida b(i)tāʕit Yaḥyā "John's mother"; il-wālidēn bitūʕ Yaḥyā "John's parents". Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
is similar, using kā/ke/kī, which agrees in case, gender and number with the head noun, e.g. Jŏna kā bēṭā जॉन का बेटा "John's son (dir.)", Jŏna kē bēṭē जॉन के बेटे "John's son (obl.)", Jŏna kī bēṭī जॉन की बेटी "John's daughter (dir./obl.)".
Using a cliticCliticIn morphology and syntax, a clitic is a morpheme that is grammatically independent, but phonologically dependent on another word or phrase. It is pronounced like an affix, but works at the phrase level...
For example, the English so-called "Saxon genitiveSaxon genitive
In English language teaching, the term "Saxon genitive" is used to associate the possessive use of the apostrophe with the historical origin in Anglo Saxon of the morpheme that it represents...
" (the "'s" modifier, as in "John's father" or "the King of Spain's house"). Note that the two genitive constructions in English (using "of" and "'s") are not synonymous. In some cases, both can be used ("John's father", "the father of John"; "the capital of the nation", "the nation's capital"), but some constructions feel natural one way, but expressed the other way will feel awkward or ungrammatical, or may even have a different meaning ("I found John's coat" but not "??I found the coat of John"; "We need to encourage the love of music" but not "??We need to encourage music's love"; "I was given two weeks' notice" but not "??I was given notice of two weeks").
The distinction between the use of a clitic and a preposition/linking word is not always clear. For example, the Japanese particle
Japanese particles
Japanese particles, or , are suffixes or short words in Japanese grammar that immediately follow the modified noun, verb, adjective, or sentence. Their grammatical range can indicate various meanings and functions, such as speaker affect and assertiveness....
no の "of" is normally written as a separate word, but is sometimes analyzed as a clitic
Clitic
In morphology and syntax, a clitic is a morpheme that is grammatically independent, but phonologically dependent on another word or phrase. It is pronounced like an affix, but works at the phrase level...
.
Using the "his genitiveHis genitiveThe his genitive is a means of forming a genitive construction by linking two nouns with a possessive pronoun such as "his"...
"
In the 1600's this construction sometimes occurred in English, e.g. Ben JonsonBen Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
's play Sejanus His Fall (i.e. "Sejanus's Fall"). It is common in spoken German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, e.g. dem Mann sein Haus "the man's house" (literally "to the man, his house"). This construction can be seen as a variation of the above use of a linking word that agrees with the dependent. In some languages, this construction has shifted to the more normal situation for agreeing linking words where agreement is with the head, as in colloquial Norwegian Hilde sitt hus "Hilde's house" (lit. "Hilda its house", where the possessive pronoun agrees with the head rather than the modifier — in this case hus "house" is neuter).
Using a possessive adjective
NOTE: In this context, this is not the same as a possessive determiner such as "my" or "his".In Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, for example, most nouns have a corresponding adjective that is declined as a normal adjective (agreeing with its head noun) but has the meaning of a genitival modifier. For example, in place of a normal construction using a noun in the genitive case:
| detstvo | Ivan-a |
| childhood(NEUT).NOM | Ivan-GEN |
| "Ivan's childhood" | |
It is also possible to use a possessive adjective, which agrees with the head in number, gender and case:
| Ivan-ov-o | detstvo |
| Ivan-POS.ADJ-NEUT.NOM | childhood(NEUT).NOM |
| "Ivan's childhood" | |
Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
also had possessive adjectives of this sort. Sometimes these are called relational adjectives (although that term is also used for a slightly different type of adjective in Russian).
Using suffixaufnahmeSuffixaufnahmeSuffixaufnahme is a linguistic phenomenon used in forming a genitive construction, whereby prototypically a genitive noun agrees with its head noun...
This occurs in some languages, and is conceptually similar to the use of possessive adjectives. Basically, a modifying noun is marked in the genitive case, but also agrees in case, number and gender with the head — essentially, it has two case markings. This occurs in some modern languages (e.g. Dyirbal), and also in Old Georgian:
| perx-ni | k'ac-isa-ni |
| foot-NOM.PL | man-GEN-NOM.PL |
| "the man's feet" | |
By placing the head noun in a special case
This is the opposite, in some sense, to the normal usage of the genitive caseGenitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
, since it is the head noun, rather than the dependent, that is marked. This is common in the Semitic languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
, where the head noun is placed in the so-called construct state and forms a close syntactic construction with a following dependent noun. For example, in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, the noun bayit "house" assumes the special form bet in the construct state, as in bet ha-yeled "the child's house" (where ha-yeled means "the child"). Typically, the special form is shorter than the original, and no other modifier (e.g. adjective) can intervene between head and dependent. (In Biblical Hebrew, the entire construct was pronounced phonologically as a single word, with no stress on the construct-state noun; this triggered sound changes associated with unstressed syllables, which typically shortened the construct-state noun.)
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
has a similar construction, but the dependent noun is also placed in the genitive case
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
:
| muʿallim-ū | l-walad-i |
| teacher-NOM.PL.CONSTRUCT | the-child-GEN |
| "the child's teachers" | |
In this case, the word "teachers" assumes the construct-state form , and "the child" assumes the genitive case . No adjective can intervene between head and dependent. Instead, an adjective such as "good" must follow the entire construction, regardless of whether the intended meaning is "the good child's teachers" or "the child's good teachers". (Gender, number and case agreement on the adjective often distinguishes the two possibilities.)
See also
- Genitive caseGenitive caseIn grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
- Construct state
- SuffixaufnahmeSuffixaufnahmeSuffixaufnahme is a linguistic phenomenon used in forming a genitive construction, whereby prototypically a genitive noun agrees with its head noun...
- His genitiveHis genitiveThe his genitive is a means of forming a genitive construction by linking two nouns with a possessive pronoun such as "his"...
- Saxon genitiveSaxon genitiveIn English language teaching, the term "Saxon genitive" is used to associate the possessive use of the apostrophe with the historical origin in Anglo Saxon of the morpheme that it represents...