Genitive Case
The genitive case is one of the 4
main cases in modern English. Whilst it has other uses (explained
below), it is predominantly the form used to indicate possession. For nouns, it is usually created by adding
's to the word or by preceding it with
"of".
Examples:
 Carl's
haircut
the edge
of the table
There are several other ways of forming the genitive case:
| Type |
Example |
Genitive
Case |
| singular noun |
dog |
dog's dinner |
| plural nouns |
dogs |
dogs' dinner |
| singular noun ending s |
Chris |
Chris' hat or Chris's hat |
| plural nouns not ending s |
Men |
Men's room |
| Take
out the hamster's wheel
and open the back of the cage.
[show me the genitive case] |
When the genitive case is used to show possession, it may also be classified
as the
"possessive case".
Example:
Dan's
bike (genitive case and possessive case)
However, the genitive case does not always indicate possession.
Examples:
children's songs (genitive case)
(In this example, the children do not own the songs.
They are songs for children.)
Constable's paintings (genitive case)
(Constable may not own the paintings. This denotes only that they are paintings by
Constable.)
Possessive adjectives and possessive
personal pronouns are also considered as being genitive forms.
Examples:
our
carpet (our - a genitive form of us)
Can
I use yours? (yours - a genitive form of you)
See also:
Glossary of grammatical terms
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