The genitive case (الجر) is the simplest of the three cases in terms of when it is used. A word in the genitive case is called مجرور. The primary marker is the كسرة (ِ). Unlike the nominative and accusative cases, which have many different triggers, the genitive case is triggered by only two main situations.
Genitive Case Markers
- كسرة (ِ): Default for singular, broken plural, and sound feminine plural nouns. Example: الكِتَابِ (of the book).
- الياء: For sound masculine plurals and dual nouns. Example: المُعَلِّمِينَ (of the teachers).
- الفتحة: For diptotes (ممنوع من الصرف) — nouns that do not take tanween. Example: مَسَاجِدَ (mosques, as genitive — uses fatḥa instead of kasra).
When Is a Word Genitive?
There are two primary situations that require the genitive case:
- After a preposition (حرف جر): Any noun following a preposition like فِي, مِنْ, إلى, عَلَى, بِ, لِ, عَنْ takes the genitive case. Example: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى المَدْرَسَةِ (I went to the school).
- In an إضافة (Idaafa/possessive construction): The second noun in an idaafa is always genitive. Example: كِتَابُ الطَّالِبِ (the student's book — الطالب is genitive because it is the مضاف إليه).
Recognizing the Genitive
Because the genitive case has only two triggers, it is the easiest case to identify. Whenever you see a noun after a preposition, you know it must be مجرور. Whenever you see two nouns in an idaafa construction, the second one is مجرور. This predictability makes the genitive case a great starting point for practicing case ending analysis.
Remember that the genitive case applies in a "chain" in idaafa constructions. In كِتَابُ مُعَلِّمِ المَدْرَسَةِ (the school teacher's book), both مُعَلِّمِ and المَدْرَسَةِ are genitive — each one is the مضاف إليه of the noun before it.