Abstract The term ‘possession’ is used to cover a wide range of relationships. Every language has—in its grammar—a ‘possessive construction’ within an NP; for example the surgeon’s knife or the trunk of the tree in English. There is cross- linguistic variation concerning what kind of person, animal, or thing may be the possessor, what may be the possessed, and what kind of possessive relationship is involved. Also, as to whether there is some formal marking on the possessor, or on the possessed, or on both, or on neither (possessor and possessed then being simply apposed).