Genitiivsingular

Genitiivsingular is the singular form of a noun in the genitive case. In languages that mark grammatical cases, the genitive singular typically signals possession or a close relation between two nouns, though its precise function can vary by language and context. It often appears in phrases that denote ownership, measurement, origin, or part–whole relationships.

Formation and usage vary across language families. In German, for example, the genitive singular of masculine and neuter nouns commonly ends with -es and combines with a definite article: des Mannes, des Kindes. In Latin, genitive singular endings differ by declension, such as -i for many 2nd-declension masculine nouns (liber pueri, “the book of the boy”). In English, possession is usually shown with the ’s clitic or a prepositional phrase using of (the boy’s book, the book of the boy), which is not a true inflected form but a possessive construction that performs a similar function. Other languages may mark genitive singular with suffixes, internal vowel changes, or fixed prepositions.

Common functions of the genitive singular include indicating possession, belonging, and association; expressing measurements, partitives, or sources; and sometimes denoting origin or specification within a noun phrase. The exact semantics depend on the language’s grammar and the surrounding context.

Not all languages have a distinct genitive singular; some rely on other cases or analytic constructions to express similar relations. The term genitive singular is widely used in linguistic descriptions to refer to the singular form of the genitive case and its typical functions.