D01
core
Relations
Possession and parts
Possession Link
Whose is it?
basic
Possessive
Genitive
Ownership
Possessive pronoun
Meaning
A relation of ownership, belonging, association, kinship, authorship, control, or close connection between participants.
How to spot it
Ask who something belongs to or is connected with.
Examples
Words
my|your|Peter's|of|own
Phrases
my book|Anna's car|the roof of the house
Sentence
This is my brother's phone.
Visual guide
Basic shape
possessor ---- link ---- possessed my book Anna car brother phone Question: whose? This is my brother's phone. link = belonging/connection
Compare shape
same possession link, different language shapes: my book pronoun Anna's car genitive/'s roof of house of-phrase house roof word order book-my? possessed form Ask: possessor + possessed?
Language View
In your native language
English
Presence
strong
Importance
English possession is expressed with possessive determiners, possessive pronouns, 'of', or 's.
This is Anna's book.
Anna's = possession
In your learning language
Spanish
Presence
strong
Difficulty
Possession is expressed with possessives and de-phrases; possessives agree with the possessed noun.
mi casa, la casa de Ana, el mío
my house, Ana's house, mine
Typical learner issue
Learners may confuse su meanings or forget agreement in mío/mía/míos/mías.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.