The Genitive: Learn to Use It Once and for All

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Today we are going to explain one of the most confusing structures for Spaniards when learning English: the Saxon genitive. And since there is nothing similar in our language, it can be difficult to assimilate at first. But with these tips and tricks, it will surely be a piece of cake .


Downloadable: English exercises - The most common mistakes


Let's start at the beginning: what is the Saxon genitive?
The Saxon genitive is a very common construction in English used to indicate greece phone number list or a relationship between two things. It can usually be translated as "of".

To form the Saxon genitive, an apostrophe is used followed by an s ('s) or, in some cases, the other way around (s'). With respect to Spanish, the order of the elements is also reversed: first comes the person or thing that possesses, and then the thing possessed. We will explain this in detail in the following section.

Another thing you should know is that the Saxon genitive is not the only way to express a relationship of ownership or possession in English. We also have possessive definites and the particle of , which we explain in more detail at the end of the article. Let's get to it!



How is the Saxon genitive formed?
The basic formula for forming the Saxon genitive could not be simpler:

Noun possessing + 's + possessed noun
Examples : Santi's boots (Santi's boots), my mother's car (my mother's car...).

This structure is very unfamiliar to Spanish speakers, so to remember it we sometimes use the trick of thinking that the 's is equivalent to "su" or "sus."