nonpossessive

Nonpossessive is a term used in linguistics to describe forms or constructions that do not express possession. It is often used in contrast to possessive forms, which indicate ownership or close association between a possessor and a possessed noun. Nonpossessive forms may involve bare nouns, non-possessive determiners, or non-possessive pronouns, depending on the language and the grammatical category being described.

In languages that mark possession morphologically on nouns or pronouns (for example with possessive suffixes, possessive clitics, or genitive cases), a nonpossessive form occurs when such marking is absent. The nonpossessive form may be used for ordinary, unpossessed reference, when the possessor is not specified, or in contexts where possession is irrelevant.

The term is also used in typological discussions about how languages encode possession. Some languages have symmetrical or separated systems where possessive marking happens with the noun and a possessor noun, while others rely on possessor pronouns or determiners. In such analyses, distinguishing possessive vs. nonpossessive forms helps describe how the language handles ownership, attribution, and related relations.

Because the term is descriptive rather than a fixed grammatical category across all languages, its precise meaning can vary by language and framework. Researchers use it to refer to the absence of possession marking rather than to a specific morphological ending.