genitivului

Genitivului refers to the genitive case, a grammatical category used in many languages to mark a close relationship between nouns, most notably possession. In Romanian grammar, the genitive is part of the oblique forms that are still visible in noun phrases and in the use of certain possessive pronouns and noun endings. Modern Romanian tends to express genitive functions through a combination of noun inflection and possessive pronouns, with the genitive and dative often sharing forms in practice.

The primary function of the genitive is to indicate possession or association, as in phrases like cartea lui Mihai (Mihai’s book) or ideile profesorului (the professor’s ideas). It also appears in expressions of partitive, origin, or characteristic relation in various constructions, often realized through the same oblique forms or with pronouns such as lui, ei, or lor to mark the possessor. In many contexts, the genitive is used where other languages might employ a prepositional phrase to express belonging or belonging-related relations.

Historically, Romanian inherited a four-case system, but today the genitive is largely identified with the genitive-dative function in the oblique paradigm. The exact form of the genitive depends on the noun’s gender and number and on the presence of a definite article attached to the noun. The genitive’s role remains central in expressing ownership, part-whole relationships, and certain semantic connections within noun phrases.

See also Romanian grammar, Nominative, Accusative, Dative, and Genitive.