This parameter considers the various types of pronominal possessive constructions[1],  when applicable, together with the locus of marking (head or dependent marking). In these constructions, the possessor appears as a pronoun, and the possessed appears as a noun. Only alienable possessives should be considered, such my house. In possessive constructions, the possessed noun (Poss) is the head, and the possessor (Gen[2]) is dependent. For pronouns to be

considered a component of the possessive construction of a given language, their use must be obligatory in at least one person.[3] A pronominal possessor may appear as either a personal pronoun, coded as PrsP, or a possessive pronoun, coded as PvP.[4]

Types:

Juxta: Possession is expressed through the juxtaposition of the possessor, appearing as a personal pronoun in base form, and the possessed noun.

PossSuff: Possession is expressed through the use of a suffix on the possessed noun; the pronoun referring to the possessor does not appear, regardless of person.

PossPref: Possession is expressed through the use of a prefix on the possessed noun; the pronoun referring to the possessor does not appear, regardless of person.

PrsPPossSuff: Possession is expressed through the use of a personal pronoun, in base form, with a suffix on the possessed noun.

PrsPPossPref: Possession is expressed through the use of a personal pronoun, in base form, with a prefix on the possessed noun.

PrsPObl: Possession is expressed through the use of a personal pronoun in non­base form[5] along with an unmarked possessed noun.

PrsPOblPossSuff: Possession is expressed through the use of a personal pronoun in non­base form and a suffix on the possessed noun.

PrsPOblPossPref: Possession is expressed through the use of a personal pronoun in non­base form and a prefix on the possessed noun.

PvP: Possession is expressed through the use of a possessive pronoun and an unmarked possessed noun.

PvPPossSuff: Possession is expressed through the use of a possessive pronoun and a suffix on the possessed noun.

PvPPossPref: Possession is expressed through the use of a possessive pronoun and a prefix on the possessed noun.

GenClit: Possession is expressed through the use of a clitic marking the possessor.[6]

AdpBetween: Possession is expressed through the use of an adposition (preposition or postposition) between the pronominal possessor and the possessed noun.[7]

ProBetween: Possession is expressed through the use of another pronoun between the pronominal possessor and the possessed noun.

ArtBetween: Possession is expressed through the use of an (inflected) article between the pronominal possessor and the possessed noun.[8]

AdpOutside: Possession is expressed through the use of an adposition (preposition or postposition) appearing outside the possessive construction.

ProOutside: Possession is expressed through the use of another pronoun appearing outside the possessive construction.

Flex: The possession­marking morpheme or word either displays flexible word order or is determined by factors or components other than the possessor and possessed (such as obligatorily appearing in the nth position in the sentence).

When a language displays more than one type, multiple values can be listed, separated by an ampersand (&). If the structure of a possession construction depends on person and number, this information can be listed in the parameter value.[9]

[1] This is not to be confused with predicative possessive marking.

[2] For the purposes of this parameter, the label Gen refers to the pronominal possessor, not the genitive case.

[3] Third­person singular should generally be considered the prototype.

[4] A possessive pronoun is a special pronoun that does not appear in non­possessive functions. Non­base forms of the personal pronoun, such as oblique cases including genitive, are not considered possessive pronouns. For example, the English my is considered a possessive pronoun (compare to I and me), whereas the Finnish minun (genitive of minä ‘I’) is a form of the personal pronoun. The English construction his house can therefore be classified as PvP, while the Finnish hänen talonsa ‘his house’ is PrsPOblPossSuff.

[5] Obl refers to any morphological or syntactic divergence from nominative case, not necessarily the use of an oblique case. Examples of this parameter value include the personal pronoun appearing in the genitive or in the nominative case alongside an obligatory article. In the latter case, the article must be a component of the possessive construction, rather than a standard part of the NP. For a language to display this type, the personal pronoun must appear in a distinct form in at least one person. Consider, for example, the Hungarian az ő házuk (‘their house’ ART PRO.S/3 house.P/3POSS), in which the pronoun ő (PRO.S/3) appears in a non­base form, rather than ők (PRO.P/3), the form in which it would appear independently. Although distinct forms of the pronoun appear only in the third person, the value PrsPObl is applied to the language as a whole.

[6] Although this clitic modifies the possessor semantically, it does not necessarily attach directly to the affected noun. For example, in English, the clitic ’s can appear at the end of the entire noun phrase, as in the girl next door’s cat.

[7] Whether the possessed noun appears in a non­base form as an argument of the adposition is of no significance.

[8] Whether the possessed noun appears in a non­base form as an argument of the article is of no significance.

[9] For example, the parameter value 3PrsPOblPossSuff&12(PrsPObl)PossSuff refers to a language in which a possessive suffix obligatorily appears on the possessed noun regardless of person, obligatorily on the possessor in the third person, and optionally on the possessor in first and second person.