Definition:
The inflected form of nouns (Obama's, the boss's) and pronouns (my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs, whose) usually indicating ownership, measurement, or source. Also known as genitive case. See also:
- Double Genitive
- Group Genitive
- Independent Genitive
- Possessive Pronoun
- Using the Different Forms of Pronouns
- Guidelines for Using Apostrophes Correctly
- The Campaign to Abolish the Apostrophe
Examples and Observations:
- "Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands."
(Anne Frank) - "Help your brother's boat across, and your own will reach the shore."
(Hindu proverb) - "In your writing, when a pronoun appears before a gerund (an -ing verbal used as a noun), use the possessive case. We have tasted their cooking. In this example, cooking is used as a noun and is the direct object of have tasted. If a pronoun appears before a participle, use the objective case. We have watched them cooking. In this second example, cooking is used as a participle to describe them."
(Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy, The Scribner Handbook for Writers, 3rd ed. Allyn and Bacon, 2001) - "The term 'possessive' is often used instead of 'genitive,' especially for pronouns, but it is important to note that the semantic relation between the genitive NP and the following head is by no means limited to that of possession."
(Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum, A Student's Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006) - "People who have given us their complete confidence believe that they have a right to ours. The inference is false: a gift confers no rights."
(Friedrich Nietzsche) - "The winner's edge is all in the attitude, not aptitude."
(Denis Waitley) - "An Englishman's way of speaking absolutely classifies him."
(Alan Jay Lerner)
Also Known As: possessive determiner, genitive case, second case
