Possession Link
Possessive
Genitive
Ownership
Possessive pronoun
Whose is it?
core
basic
Relations
Maana
A relation of ownership, belonging, association, kinship, authorship, control, or close connection between participants.
Jinsi ya kuitambua
Ask who something belongs to or is connected with.
Mifano
Maneno
my|your|Peter's|of|own
Virai
my book|Anna's car|the roof of the house
Sentensi
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?
Mtazamo wa lugha
Katika lugha yako
Arabic (Modern Standard)
Uwepo
strong
Umuhimu
Possession is central through iḍāfa, possessive suffixes, and لــ possession patterns.
كتابُ الطالبِ جديد.
The student’s book is new.
Katika lugha unayojifunza
Bengali (standard)
Uwepo
strong
Ugumu
Possession is commonly marked by genitive -র/-এর or possessive pronouns before the noun.
এটা আমার বই।
This is my book.
Changamoto ya kawaida kwa wanaojifunza
Learners may use the wrong genitive allomorph after different noun endings.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.