There are two main methods for expressing possession in Persian: using possessive adjectives or using the genitive case. Possessive adjectives are suffixes. They attach to the end of a noun phrase to indicate who owns or possesses it. The genitive case is a grammatical case that marks the noun phrase as being the owner or possessor of another noun phrase. Both methods have their own advantages and disadvantages, and they can be used for different purposes and contexts.

Possessive adjectives are similar to the English words “my”, “your”, “his”, “her”, etc. You can form them adding a suffix to the end of the noun phrase that is possessed. For example, to say “my book” in Persian, we would say /ketābæm/, where /ketāb/ means “book” and /-æm/ means “my”. The suffix /-æm/ is one of the possessive adjectives in Persian, and it shows that the book belongs to me. Here are some more examples of possessive adjectives in Persian:

• His house = /xāne-aš/
• Your (informal) friend = /dost-at/
• Our car = /māšin-emān/
• Their (formal) teacher = /mo’alem-ešān/

Exceptions

There are some rules and exceptions for using possessive adjectives in Persian. For example, if the noun phrase ends with a long vowel (/ā/ or /u/), then an extra consonant you should add /-y-/ before the suffix. For example, to say “your (informal) hair” in Persian, we would say /mu-y-at/, where /mu/ means “hair” and /-at/ means “your”. Another example is “his leg” in Persian, which is /pā-y-aš/, where /pā/ means “leg” and /-aš/ means “his”.

Another rule is that if the noun phrase ends with a silent /h/, then you should add an extra vowel /-æ-/ before the suffix for singular nouns, and optionally for plural nouns. For example, to say “his child” in Persian, we would say /bacce-aš/, where /bacce/ means “child” and /-aš/ means “his”. Another example is “their (formal) alley” in Persian, which can be either /kuce-ešān/ or /kuce-ašān/, where /kuce/ means “alley” and /-ešān/ or /-ašān/ means “their”.

Possessive adjectives are useful for expressing simple and direct possession in Persian. However, they have some limitations and drawbacks. For example, they cannot be used to express complex or indirect possession, such as “the book of my friend” or “the house of his father”. They also cannot be used to emphasize or contrast possession, such as “my book, not yours” or “his house, not mine”. For these cases, we need to use another method: the genitive case.

Possessive with genitive in Persian

The genitive case is a grammatical case that marks the noun phrase as being the owner or possessor of another noun phrase. It is formed by adding the word /-e/ after the noun phrase that owns or possesses something. For example, to say “the book of my friend” in Persian, we would say /ketāb-e dustæm/, where /ketāb/ means “book”, /-e/ marks the genitive case, and /dustæm/ means “my friend”. The word /-e/ shows that the book belongs to my friend. Here are some more examples of the genitive case in Persian:

• The house of his father = /xāne-e pedar-aš/
• The friend of your (informal) sister = /dost-e xāhar-at/
• The car of our neighbor = /māšin-e hamsāye-emān/
• The teacher of their (formal) school = /mo’alem-e mædrese-ešān/

You can use the genitive case with free personal pronouns instead of possessive adjectives to express possession. This structure is mainly used for emphasis or contrast. For example, to say “my book” in Persian with emphasis, we would say /ketāb-e man/, where /ketāb/ means “book”, /-e/ marks the genitive case, and /man/ means “I”. The word /man/ shows that the book belongs to me, and not to anyone else. Here are some more examples of the genitive case with free personal pronouns in Persian:

• My house = /xāne-e man/
• Your (informal) friend = /dost-e to/
• His car = /māšin-e u/
• Our teacher = /mo’alem-e mā/
• Their (formal) alley = /kuce-e išān/

The genitive case is useful for expressing complex and indirect possession in Persian. You can also use it to emphasize or contrast possession. However, it has some disadvantages and drawbacks. For example, it can be redundant or ambiguous in some cases, such as “the book of my friend’s father” or “the house of his sister’s husband”. It can also be less natural or colloquial than possessive adjectives in some cases, such as “my mother” or “his brother”. For these cases, we need to use the most appropriate method according to the context and the intention of the speaker.

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