Genetiivin

Genetiivin is the term used in some grammars for the genitive case, a grammatical category found in many European languages. The genitive marks a noun’s relationship to another word, typically indicating possession, close association, origin, or measurement. It is commonly used within noun phrases to express equivalents of English “of” or possessive constructions, and it can interact with numerals, pronouns, and adjectives in various ways depending on the language.

In Finnish, the genitive is a distinct morphological form attached to the noun. For example, koira (dog) becomes koiran in the genitive singular, signaling “of the dog” or “the dog’s.” The genitive plural is koirien, used for phrases like “the dogs’ collars.” In Estonian, koer becomes koera in the genitive singular and koerte in the genitive plural, used similarly to express possession or relatedness.

Latvian also has a genitive case. For the noun suns (dog), the singular genitive is suņa and the plural genitive is suņu, used in phrases like “the dog’s bone” or “of the dogs.”

Beyond possession, genitive forms appear in fixed expressions, with adjectives, or after words that require a genitive in the language. Some languages use the genitive to denote material, measure, or origin. Throughout its history, the genitive has been a core nominal case in many language families, including those that use the term Genetiivin in their grammars. See also genitive case.