Affixes that mark person, number, gender or class on a possessed noun may be restricted by semantic properties.[1]

Types:

NonPossAff: Personal possessive affixes are not expressed on the possessed noun.

PossAff: The use of personal possessive affixes on the possessed noun is always required, with no semantic distribution.

PossAff~NonAff: The use of personal possessive affixes on the possessed noun is always optional, with no semantic distribution.

PossAff(NonPossAff): The use of personal possessive affixes on the possessed noun is generally required but for possessed nouns with some specific meaning where their use is optional.

PossPrefSuff: The use of personal possessive affixes on the possessed noun is always required, with affix type (prefix or suffix) determined by the possessed noun’s inalienability. Inalienable possessed nouns may be restricted to prefixes, while inalienable possessed nouns are restricted to suffixes, or vice versa.[2]

PossAffInal1: Personal possessive affixes are only used if the possessed noun is inalienable; this includes kinship words and body parts.

PossAffInal2: Personal possessive affixes are only used if the possessed noun is inalienable; this includes a lexical set beyond kinship words and body parts.[3]

PossAffInal3: Personal possessive affixes are only used if the possessed noun is inalienable, and two separate affix paradigms exist for kinship words and body parts.

PossAffInal4: Personal possessive affixes are only used if the possessed noun is inalienable; inalienability is restricted to body parts.

PossAffRel: The distribution of personal possessive affixes depends on person and number.[4]

When a language displays features of more than one type, two values can be listed. If one type is dominant, a slash (/) can separate the two values, with the dominant value appearing first; if neither is dominant, the two are listed with an ampersand (&) separating the two.

[1] Compare with syntactic-based restrictions, which are addressed in the parameter Syntactic distribution of personal possessive affixes.

[2] The details of these restrictions should be specified in the commentary.

[3] Semantic boundaries are not always clear. In some cases, use may have lexicalized, and even synonyms may fall into different categories.

[4] A language may, for example, restrict its use of possessive affixes on possessed nouns to constructions with possessors in singular.