4.2. Possessive phrases

The possessive phrase is a syntactic construction involving two elements: a possessor (i.e. someone who possesses something) and a possessee (the possessed entity). A distinction that it is important to keep in mind is that between attributive (a) and predicative (b) possession. Examples in LIS of these two constructions are provided below.

 

 

 

         a.            maria car poss3 comfortable

         โ€˜Mariaโ€™s car is comfortable.โ€™

 

 

 

         b.            car pe maria poss3

         โ€˜This car is Mariaโ€™s.โ€™

 

Attributive possession is included within the noun phrase (SYNTAX 4), while predicative possession does not combine with a noun, but predicates something about it. This section is devoted to attributive possessive phrases only.