Genitiivsingi

Genitiivsingi is a linguistic term used to describe the genitive singular form in languages that mark both case and number on nouns. It encodes a possessive or closely related relationship between a head noun and its dependent, and is commonly translated into English as a possessive construction such as the cover of a book or the book’s cover.

Functions and usage: The genitive singular signals possession, origin, or a close association between nouns. It frequently appears in possessive phrases, part–whole expressions, and certain constructions governed by numerals or determiners. In languages with rich morphological systems, the genitive singular is one inflected form among others (such as genitive plural or nominative), and it interacts with adjectives and determiners in terms of agreement and placement.

Morphology: Realization of genitiivsingi varies across languages. Some languages realize it as a suffix added to the noun stem, others through internal stem changes, and still others with separate markers that appear before or after the noun. The precise shape of the genitive singular is language-specific, and it may constrain or align with surrounding words in phrases.

Cross-linguistic notes: The concept parallels the genitive singular found in many language families, including Germanic, Slavic, Romance, and Uralic languages, though the exact forms and rules differ widely. In some languages, the genitive singular is obligatory after numerals or certain prepositions, while in others it is used in a broader set of constructions.

See also: Genitive case, singular, inflection, case system.