possessive case
- noun
- /pəˈzɛsɪv keɪs/
- Specialized
:
caso posesivo
- Teachers often explain the possessive case when teaching beginner English grammar.
Examples
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The possessive case shows ownership in English.
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The possessive case shows that something belongs to someone, as in ‘John’s book’.
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In English, the possessive case is often formed by adding an apostrophe and 's' to a noun.
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In the sentence, the possessive case indicates who owns what.
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In English, the possessive case is often formed by adding an apostrophe and 's' to a noun.
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The possessive case indicates that something belongs to someone, like in the phrase 'John's book'.
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You can recognize the possessive case by looking for words that express ownership, such as 'Mary's car'.
Synonyms
1
3.8
A form of a word that shows something belongs to someone
1
8.6
A grammatical form that shows who owns something, for example 'the girl's book'
A grammatical form that shows possession or a close relationship, usually shown with 's
A noun using the 's form before another noun to show who owns or is connected to it
A noun with 's that shows who owns or is closely connected to something
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the grammatical case used to indicate ownership' is directly derivable from combining 'possessive' (marking possession) with 'case' (a grammatical category). This compositional naming follows standard grammar patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the two words will readily understand it.
Etymology
Possessive case comes from the idea of a grammar 'case' that shows who 'owns' something. In English we often show this by adding 's to a name, as in 'John's book', so the little 's tells us that something 'belongs to' someone.