English has several terms that indicate the possessive, and several meanings that can be expressed thereby. Not all the terms in allregisters andcontexts bear all the meanings. Ways to mark the possessive:

• tohave
• tohave got
• -'s (Bill's,one's,the man in the yellow hat's, etc.)
• possessive pronoun (mine,ours,yours, et al.)
• possessive determiner (my,our,your, et al.)
• of
• of +-'s
• of + possessive pronoun
• noun adjunct (the White House lawn, etc.)

[possessive]

1. Concerningownership,property,possession.
   1. Connects a person to something they own, having rights over what to do with it, etc.

      Ihave a house and a car.

      This isher book.

      The house itself ismine, but the land is not.

      That green carof Bill's got smashed up.

      put it inmy curbside mailbox

   2. Connects a person with something they have borrowed.

      I have to takemy books back to the library soon.

   3. Connects a person with something they are using at the moment.

      My seat at the restaurant was uncomfortable.

2. Concerning the body and nature of self.
   1. Connects a person or other creature to their whole body (as in: "my body", "our bodies").
   2. Connects a person or other creature with part of their body.

      The cat bit the dog’s tail and ran.

      The cat bit the dog with the shaggy fur’s tail and ran.

      • 1862 February,Julia Ward Howe, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", inThe Atlantic Monthly, Volume IX, Number LII, page 10,

        Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord: /[…]

      • 1933, Havelock Ellis,Psychology of Sex, volume 4:

        The breastsof young girls sometimes become tender at puberty in sympathy with the evolution of the sexual organs […].

      • 2006, St. John Ambulance,First on the Scene: Student Reference Guide,→ISBN, Lesson 2, page 3:

        Place the casualty ontheir back with feet and legs raised—this is called theshock position. [emphasis in original] Once the casualty is positioned, cover them to preserve body heat, but do not overheat.

      • 2013 July–August,Stephen P. Lownie,David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, inAmerican Scientist:

        As we age, the major arteriesof our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.

   3. Connects a person or other creature with the abstract nature of self, as in mind, spirit, etc.

      her mind

      her spirit

      her soul

3. Concerning the placement and structure of objects.
   1. Connects objects to their places.
      • 2010 October 29, Marina Hyde,The Guardian:

        It amounts to knocking on the doorof No 10 then running away.

      The largest statueof the park.

      The windowof the bathroom.

   2. Connects objects to their components.

      The doorof the closet.

4. Concerning relations between places.
   1. Connects a type of place (states "of" Brazil, etc.) to a larger place name or type they are part of.

      The provincesof Canada.

      The capitalof Lebanon.

      How many capitalsof countries do you know?

5. Concerningjobs,titles andactivities.
   1. Connects a person with a certainjob to acompany,organization orplace.

      The CEOof the company.

      The janitorof my building.

      • 2001,Dictionary of National Biography, 2001, page 27:

        The third son, William John (1826-1902), was headmasterof the Boys' British School, Hitchin […].

   2. Connects a person with a certain politicaltitle to aplace.

      The mayorof the town.

      • 1977 October 28,The Guardian:

        In a much-anticipated radio broadcast the Dukeof Edinburgh said last night that Britain will be a grim place in the year 2000 […].

   3. Connects people by their association in a job or other activity.

      My secretary.

      My boss.

      My workmates.

      My teacher.

      My classmates.

      • 1972 December 29, Richard Schickel, “Masterpieces underrated and overlooked”, inLife, volume73, number25,page22:

        A friend of mine who runs an intellectual magazine was grousing abouthis movie critic, complaining that though the fellow had likedThe Godfather (page 58), he had neglected to label it clearly as a masterpiece.

   4. Connects people to a place they are associated with, such as the workplace, school or a club.

      I recognised him because he had attendedmy school.

      I met him atmy club.

6. Concerning personal connections other than job and activity-related ones.
   1. Connects members of a family.

      My parents won't let me go out tonight.

      Ihave two sisters.

      You're no sonof mine.

   2. Indicates any connection between people:friends,lovers,rivals,fans, etc.

      My friends.

      • 2012 April 15, Phil McNulty, “Tottenham 1-5 Chelsea”, inBBC‎^[1]:

        Before kick-off, a section of Chelsea’s support sadly let themselves and their club down by noisily interrupting the silence held in memory of the Hillsborough disaster and for Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini, who collapsed and died after suffering a heart attack during a Serie B game on Saturday.

      • 1898,Winston Churchill, chapter 4, inThe Celebrity:

        No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwisehis man would be there with a message to say thathis master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.

      • 1989, Jasper Becker and John Gittings,The Guardian, 5 Jun 1989:

        The Chinese government is at war withits own people.

      • 1594, Shakespeare, William,The Comedy of Errors, act IV, scene 3, line 1172:

        There's not a man I meet but doth salute me
        As if I weretheir well-acquainted friend[…]

      • a.1611,William Shakespeare,The Tempest, Act V, Scene 1:

        […] Flesh and blood, / You, brothermine, that entertain'd ambition, /[…]

   3. Indicates a connection between owner and pet.

      Look what Ihave here—a frog I found on the street!

      • 1813, Jane Austen,Pride and Prejudice:

        They descended the hill, crossed the bridge, and drove to the door; and, while examining the nearer aspect of the house, all her apprehensions of meetingits owner returned.

7. Concerning people's connections to their activities.
   1. Connects a person to their pieces of work, works of art or contributions to a certain goal.

      women’s contributions to science

      Steve's letters to me.

      Smith's latest novel

      • 1976 March 27, F. Dudley Hart, “History of the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis”, inBritish Medical Journal, volume 1, number6012,→DOI,→JSTOR, page763:

        In 1951, when many people, both patients and doctors, thought that the newly discovered cortisoneof Philip Hench was the therapeutic answer to this disease but were for one reason or another unable to obtain it, a paper from Sweden stated that similar results could be obtained by injections of deoxycortone (Doca) and ascorbic acid.

      • 2011, Xan Rice,The Guardian, 8 Apr 2011:

        Inhis first televised address since the siege in Abidjan began this week, Ouattara said he would focus on returning the country to normal to ease the plight of civilians.

8. Concerningexperiences,states,conditions.
   1. Connects a person or a group to something theyexperience (or experienced).

      Mine has been a long journey.

   2. Connects a person or a group to something theyparticipate (or participated) in.

      The civil warsof France.

      • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, inBBC Sport:

        For Liverpool,their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.

   3. Connects someone or something to a temporarystate of affairs.

      Wehad a hard year last year, with the locust swarms and all that.

   4. Connects adiseased to adisease.

      Hehad a cold last week.

      Hehas cancer.

9. Concerningtime.
   1. Connects something to a point in time (today, yesterday, the year 2000, etc.) theyexist ortake place.

      Today's snow is the worst I've seen in many years.

      • 1774,Edward Long,The History of Jamaica. Or, General Survey of the Antient and Modern State of that Island, volume 2, book 2, chapter 7,5:

        The building was erected in two years, at the parochial expence, on the foundation of the former one, which was irreparably damaged by the hurricaneof Auguſt, 1712.

      • 1908, EF Benson,The Blotting Book:

        Thus, as he dressed, the thoughts and the rageof yesterday began to stir and move in his mind again.

   2. Connects something to the amount of time (e.g., 2 days, 3 months, etc.) it takes from beginning to end.

      two week's notice - a notice that one is going to work for two weeks and then leave the company

      the Hundred Years'War

      a Jupiter's year

      a day's pay

10. Concerning characteristics, attributes, qualities and abstract ideas.
    1. Connects someone or something to an attribute or quality that seems to be associated with them naturally or by definition.

       the rednessof an apple

       the emptynessof space

    2. Connects someone or something to an attribute or quality that they may have given the circumstances.

       the faultof

       • 2007,J. K. Rowling,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, (quoted edition: London: Bloomsbury, 2008,→ISBN, page93):

         ‘I mean ... if somebody made a mistake,’ Harry went on, ‘and let something slip, I know they didn’t mean to do it. It’s nottheir fault,’ he repeated, again a little louder than he would usually have spoken.

       Your good health!

    3. Connects someone with a feeling, emotion, judgement orstate of mind.

       Makeher sadness go away.

       grabtheir attention

       Let's meet tomorrow atyour convenience.

       at the pleasureof Her Majesty

       We strive foryour comfort.

       • 1763,Authorized King James Version of the Bible, Oxford Standard Text,Leviticus 25:5:

         That which groweth ofits own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.(originally "of it own accord" in the 1611 first edition)

       • 1994, Paul Coates,Film at the Intersection of High and Mass Culture, page 136:

         InBlood and Sand, meanwhile, Valentino repeatedly solicits the attentionof women who have turned away from him.

       • 2009 December 28, "Head to head",The Economist:

         Somehow Croatia has escaped the opprobriumof the likes of the German Christian Democrats and others that are against any rapid enlargement of the European Union to the include rest of the western Balkans.

    4. Connects a person or a company with a plan, modus operandi, philosophy, religion, political party or alignment of ideas.

       My political party is...

       • 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, inThe Economist, volume408, number8845:

         Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly maketheir existing business model obsolete.

    5. Connects someone or something to their names, ID numbers or other forms of identification.

       My ID number is...

       • 2008, Mike Knudson & Steve Wilkinson,Raymond and Graham Rule the School

         Paying no attention to Lizzy, Mrs. Gibson began calling outour names in alphabetical order.

    6. Connects a person to their place of origin.
       • 2003 August 20, Julian Borger,The Guardian:

         Within ten seconds, the citizensof New York, Cleveland, Detroit and Toronto were being given first-hand experience of what it was like to live in the nineteenth century.

• Wiktionary:Tea room/2011/April#English possessives
• Wiktionary:Beer parlour/2016/January#English possessives

• ter (to have, possess)
• pronouns (meu,minha,teu,seu, etc.)
• de
• de + articles (do,da,dum,dumas, etc.)
• de + personal pronouns (dele,dela, etc.)

[possessive]

1. Possession, ownership.

   Eutenho uma casa e um carro.

2. Part of a body.

   Caudado cachorro.

3. Possession, holding; usage, experiencing, undergoing.

   Aminha longa jornada.

4. Attribution or derivation; from.

   Contribuiçõesdas mulheres para a ciência.

5. Frequent use; assignment; association; membership.

   Aminha mesa no restaurante.

6. Belonging to, existing in, or taking place in a given location, place or time.

   A chuvade hoje.

7. Belonging to (a place) through having title, ownership or control over it.

   Duquede Edimburgo

8. Familial or similar relationship.

   Meus pais.

   Eutenho duas irmãs.

• English semantic usages
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