Possessiivinen

Possessiivinen is a linguistic term used in Finnish to describe possession and the forms that express ownership. The word is formed from Latin possessivus and is used to classify grammatical strategies that indicate belonging or ownership in languages, including Finnish.

In Finnish grammar, possession is primarily expressed through possessive suffixes attached to the possessed noun, producing omistusmuodot or omistusliitteet. For example, taloni means “my house,” talosi means “your house,” and talonsa means “his/her/its house.” The suffixes also mark number and, in the third person, can refer to singular or plural possessors depending on context. Other common forms of marking possession in Finnish include possessive pronouns and determiners, such as minun, sinun, hänen, meidän, teidän, and heidän, which can function as possessive adjectives or independent pronouns.

Possessiivinen as a broader category covers possession-marking devices across languages, not only suffixal forms on nouns but also possessive pronouns and adjectives. In linguistic typology, possession can be encoded through affixes, separate words, or clitic constructions, and possessor agreement may appear on the possessed noun phrase or related determiners.

See also: omistus, omistusliitteet, possessor pronouns, possessive determiners.