genitive case
Also known as possessive case, second case, genitive, gen
grammatical case that marks a word as modifying another word, indicating possession, composition, etc.
AI overview
The genitive case is a grammatical form that shows when one word belongs to or is connected to another word, such as indicating possession or what something is made of. It matters because many languages use this case to clarify relationships between words, making sentences clearer and more precise.
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Article
Cuneiform inscription Lugal Kiengi Kiuri 𒈗𒆠𒂗𒄀𒆠𒌵 ("King of Sumer and Akkad") on a seal of Sumerian king Shulgi (r. c. 2094 – c. 2047 BCE) with final ke4 𒆤 being the composite of -k (genitive case) and -e (ergative case) In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated gen) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can also serve purposes indicating other relationships. For example, some verbs may feature arguments in the genitive case; and the genitive case may also have adverbial uses (see adverbial genitive).
The genitive construction includes the genitive case, but is a broader category. Placing a modifying noun in the genitive case is one way of indicating that it is related to a head noun, in a genitive construction. However, there are other ways to indicate a genitive construction. For example, many Afroasiatic languages place the head noun (rather than the modifying noun) in the construct state.