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§ 5. Within the general functional semantics of appurtenance, the 
English genitive expresses a wide range of relational meanings 
specified in the regular interaction of the semantics of the subordi-
nating and subordinated elements in the genitive phrase. Summa-
rising the results of extensive investigations in this field, the fol-
lowing basic semantic types of the genitive can be pointed out. 
First, the form which can be called the "genitive of possessor" (Lat. 
"genetivus possessori"). Its constructional meaning will be defined 
as "inorganic" possession, i.e. possessional relation (in the broad 
sense) of the genitive referent to the object denoted by the head-
noun. E.g.: Christine's living-room; the assistant manager's desk; 
Dad's earnings; Kate and Jerry's grandparents; the Steel Corpora-
tion's hired slaves. 
The diagnostic test for the genitive of possessor is its transforma-
tion into a construction that explicitly expresses 

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the idea of possession (belonging) inherent in the form. Cf.: Chris-
tine's living-room → the living-room belongs to Christine; the 
Steel Corporation's hired slaves → the Steel Corporation possesses 
hired slaves.* 
Second, the form which can be called the "genitive of integer" (Lat. 
"genetivus integri"). Its constructional meaning will be defined as 
"organic possession", i.e. a broad possessional relation of a whole 
to its part. E.g.: Jane's busy hands; Patrick's voice; the patient's 
health; the hotel's lobby. 
Diagnostic test: ...→ the busy hands as part of Jane's person; ...→ 
the health as part of the patient's state; ...→ the lobby as a compo-
nent part of the hotel, etc. 
A subtype of the integer genitive expresses a qualification received 
by the genitive referent through the headword. E.g.: Mr. Dodson's 
vanity; the computer's reliability. 
This subtype of the genitive can be called the "genitive of received 
qualification" (Lat. "genetivus qualificationis receptae"). 
Third, the "genitive of agent" (Lat. "genetivus agentis"). The more 
traditional name of this genitive is "subjective" (Lat. "genetivus 
subjectivus"). The latter term seems inadequate because of its un-
justified narrow application: nearly all the genitive types stand in 
subjective relation to the referents of the head-nouns. The general 
meaning of the genitive of agent is explained in its name: this form 
renders an activity or some broader processual relation with the 
referent of the genitive as its subject. E.g.: the great man's arrival; 
Peter's insistence; the councillor's attitude; Campbell Clark's gaze; 
the hotel's competitive position. 
Diagnostic test: ...→ the great man arrives; ...→ Peter insists; ...→ 
the hotel occupies a competitive position, etc. 
A subtype of the agent genitive expresses the author, or, more 
broadly considered, the producer of the referent of the head-noun. 
Hence, it receives the name of the "genitive of author" (Lat. "ge-
netivus auctori"). E.g.: Beethoven's sonatas; John Galsworthy's "A 
Man of Property"; the committee's progress report. 
Diagnostic test: ...—» Beethoven has composed (is the author of) 
the sonatas; ...→ the committee has compiled (is the compiler of) 
the progress report, etc. 
Fourth, the "genitive of patient" (Lat. "genetivus patientis"). 
* We avoid the use of the verb have in diagnostic constructions, 
because have itself, due to its polysemantism, wants diagnostic 
contextual specifications 

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This type of genitive, in contrast to the above, expresses the recipi-
ent of the action or process denoted by the head-noun. E.g.: the 
champion's sensational defeat; Erick's final expulsion; the meet-
ing's chairman; the St Gregory's proprietor; the city's business 
leaders; the Titanic's tragedy. 
Diagnostic test: ...→ the champion is defeated (i.e. his opponent 
defeated him); ...→ Erick is expelled; ...→ the meeting is chaired 
by its chairman; ...→ the St Gregory is owned by its proprietor, etc. 
Fifth, the "genitive of destination" (Lat. "genetivus destinationis"). 
This form denotes the destination, or function of the referent of the 
head-noun. E.g.: women's footwear; children's verses; a fishers' 
tent. 
Diagnostic test: ...→ footwear for women; ...→ a tent for fishers, 
etc. 
Sixth, the "genitive of dispensed qualification" (Lat. "genetivus 
qualificationis dispensatae"). The meaning of this genitive type, as 
different from the subtype "genitive of received qualification", is 
some characteristic or qualification, not received, but given by the 
genitive noun to the referent of the head-noun. E.g.: a girl's voice; 
a book-keeper's statistics; Curtis O'Keefe's kind (of hotels — 
M.B.). 
Diagnostic test: ...→ a voice characteristic of a girl; ...→ statistics 
peculiar to a book-keeper's report; ...→ the kind (of hotels) charac-
teristic of those owned by Curtis O'Keefe. 
Under the heading of this general type comes a very important sub-
type of the genitive which expresses a comparison. The compari-
son, as different from a general qualification, is supposed to be of a 
vivid, descriptive nature. The subtype is called the "genitive of 
comparison" (Lat. "genetivus comparationis"). This term has been 
used to cover the whole class. E.g.: the cock's self-confidence of 
the man; his perky sparrow's smile. 
Diagnostic test: ...→ the self-confidence like that of a cock; ...→ 
the smile making the man resemble a perky sparrow. 
Seventh, the "genitive of adverbial" (Lat. "genetivus adverbii"). 
The form denotes adverbial factors relating to the referent of the 
head-noun, mostly the time and place of the event. Strictly speak-
ing, this genitive may be considered as another subtype of the geni-
tive of dispensed qualification. Due to its adverbial meaning, this 
type of genitive can be used with 

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adverbialised substantives. E.g.: the evening's newspaper; yester-
day's encounter; Moscow's talks. 
Diagnostic test: ...→ the newspaper issued in the evening; ...→ the 
encounter which took place yesterday; ...→the talks that were held 
in Moscow. 
Eighth, the "genitive of quantity" (Lat. "genetivus quantitatis"). 
This type of genitive denotes the measure or quantity relating to 
the referent of the head-noun. For the most part, the quantitative 
meaning expressed concerns units of distance measure, time meas-
ure, weight measure. E.g.: three miles' distance; an hour's delay; 
two months' time; a hundred tons' load. 
Diagnostic test: ...→ a distance the measure of which is three 
miles; ...→ a time lasting for two months; ...→ a load weighing a 
hundred tons. 
The given survey of the semantic types of the genitive is by no 
means exhaustive in any analytical sense. The identified types are 
open both to subtype specifications, and inter-type generalisations 
(for instance, on the principle of the differentiation between sub-
ject-object relations), and the very set of primary types may be ex-
panded. 
However, what does emerge out of the survey, is the evidence of a 
wide functional range of the English particle genitive, making it 
into a helpful and flexible, if subsidiary, means of expressing rela-
tional semantics in the sphere of the noun.