pluralgenitive

Plural genitive, also called genitive plural, is the grammatical form used to indicate possession or a related relationship when the possessor is a plural noun. It can be a separate case, a suffix, or a punctuation-based construction, depending on the language. Its function is to show that something belongs to or is associated with multiple entities.

In English, the plural genitive is commonly formed by adding an apostrophe after the plural noun. If the plural ends in s, only the apostrophe is added: the dogs' tails. If the plural does not end in s, add 's: the children's toys, the men's room. The same possessive sense can also be expressed with an of-phrase: the tails of the dogs. Style guides differ on when one form is preferred, but both are understood.

Across languages, plural genitive realizations vary. German marks genitive plural with endings like -er and a definite article form, as in der Häuser. Other languages may rely on prepositions, word order, or separate possessive words rather than a single suffix. The general idea remains: a grammatical resource for linking a plural possessor to the thing possessed.

Historically, the term derives from the Latin genitivus, linked to possession and origin. In linguistic study, plural genitive is treated as a standard way to encode possession by plural entities and as part of the broader system of genitive or possessive constructions.