-n / -r

Linking a Noun to Its Possessor

Level 2

Head–linker + modifier expresses possession and other relationships.

How It Works

A noun–noun genitive places the head first and its possessor or other modifier second. Schuh describes masculine singular and plural heads as taking -n and feminine singular heads as taking -r. Caron gives a more restricted selection rule: -r with feminine heads ending in -a, and -n elsewhere. The examples here fit both descriptions. The possessor's gender does not determine the linker. Learn the linked noun form, including its short vowel before the consonantal linker.

Genitives also express origin, material, purpose, and part–whole relationships. For instance, mutumin Zaria means ‘a person from Zaria’. Feminine -r commonly assimilates to the next consonant in speech, but ordinary spelling retains r. This is pronunciation variation, not a replacement spelling rule. Attached pronoun possession uses genitive forms, with special feminine first-person -ta ‘my’. Previous-reference endings may look identical to these linkers; their reference function and potentially different tone must be kept distinct.

Examples (3)

  1. littafin Musa

    Musa's book

    Noun-phrase fragment: masculine littafi has the linked form littafin.

  2. abokan Amina

    Amina's male friends

    Noun-phrase fragment: the plural head takes -n regardless of the female possessor.

  3. jakar Musa

    Musa's bag

    Noun-phrase fragment: the feminine head takes written -r regardless of the male possessor.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-n / -rLevel 2Linking a Noun to Its Possessor

Learn This First

Recognize noun gender and tone/vowel length before learning the linked form, including its short vowel, and distinguishing linking from previous-reference marking.

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Patterns that build on this one.