Genetív

Genetív, or genitive, is a grammatical case used in several languages to express a relation between a noun and another element, most commonly possession, but also origin, description, or measurement. The term derives from Latin genitivus and has been adopted into many grammatical traditions to describe this function.

Use and meaning: A core function of the genitive is to indicate possession, as in the book of the student. Beyond ownership, it can mark close association, a part-whole relationship, origin or material, and sometimes quantity or description. The exact semantics and allowed complements vary by language, and in some languages the genitive is used for multiple syntactic purposes.

Morphology and variation: In languages with rich inflection, the genitive is a distinct case with its own endings for nouns, adjectives, and determiners. In analytic or less inflected languages, possession and related relations may be expressed by prepositions, possessive pronouns, or word order rather than a dedicated case ending. Examples illustrate the diversity: Latin uses the genitive to show possession as in liber pueri (the boy’s book); German marks possession with the genitive in forms like des Mannes (the man’s), though usage varies by style. Russian employs the genitive in a wide range of roles, including partitives and after negation. English lacks a dedicated genitive case, typically using ’s or of-phrases to express possession.

Notable features: The genitive often contrasts with other cases in its syntactic position and functions, and its exact form and use differ across languages. It is a key tool for expressing relationships between nouns without resorting to additional prepositional phrases.