Why are descriptive subjects in the genitive?

1. What is the genitive of description?
2. Why is genitive used?
3. Why is genitive singular form important?
4. What does genitive mean in linguistics?

What is the genitive of description?

Genitive of Description: essentially all genitives used with nouns describe, but the grammarians like to use this term for the more qualitative descriptions. For example, vir magnae sapientiae = a man of great wisdom = a very wise man.

Why is genitive used?

The genitive case is used to show possession. You use the genitive to show who something belongs to. In English we would use an apostrophe to indicate what belongs to someone or something, eg the school's headteacher.

Why is genitive singular form important?

So the genitive singular form is also important because it provides us with the root of each noun, which is used throughout the declension (even if the nominative singular is different).

What does genitive mean in linguistics?

In the grammar of some languages, the genitive, or the genitive case, is a noun case which is used mainly to show possession. In English grammar, a noun or name with 's added to it, for example 'dog's' or 'Anne's', is sometimes called the genitive form.