genitivepluraali

Genitivepluraali, or genitive plural, is the plural form of the genitive case in languages that have a case-based noun system. The genitive case marks a relation such as possession, description, or part-whole between nouns. The genitive plural specifically refers to the form used when the noun phrase involved is plural or when a plural possessive interpretation is required. The exact form and its usage vary across languages.

In many languages, the genitive plural is used to express possession by multiple owners or to indicate relationships where the possessed entity is considered in plural. The genitive plural can appear on the possessed noun, the possessor, or within the larger noun phrase, depending on the language’s syntax and morphology. Some languages also require genitive plural after numerals, while others treat numerals differently and do not trigger a distinct genitive plural on the possessed noun.

Examples across languages illustrate the concept:

- Latin: librorum is the genitive plural of liber (book), as in librorum fratrum meaning “of the books of the brothers.”

- German: der Bücher is the genitive plural of Buch, used in phrases like Die Seiten der Bücher (“the pages of the books”).

- Finnish: koirien omistajat uses koirien, the genitive plural of koira (dog), in a possessive construction meaning “owners of the dogs.”

- Russian: knigi uchiteley features uchiteley in the genitive plural, as in books belonging to teachers.

- English: the dogs’ bones shows a possessive plural form, functioning as a genitive construction without a dedicated plural ending.

See also: Genitive case, Genitive plural in specific languages, Possessive constructions.