Prototypically expressed with the *s-genitive* ([[GenitivesPossessives]]: [p en/'s] and possessive pronouns), and [p en/of] (the *of-genitive*):

| | |
------------|------------
[ex 001 "the house [p en/of Possessor] the Smith family"]|[ex 002 "the Smith family[p en/'s Possessor] house"]
[ex 003 "the corgis [p en/of Possessor] Queen Elizabeth"]|[ex 004 "Queen Elizabeth[p en/'s Possessor] corgis"]

[ss Possessor] is not limited to cases of <i>ownership</i>, but also includes temporary forms of possession, such when something is on loan to or under the control of the possessor.
The [ss Possessor] may be *borrowing*, *renting*, *wearing*, or *holding* the property:

- [ex 005 "John[p en/'s Possessor] hotel room [the room John is staying in as a guest]"]

- [ex 006 "Mary[p en/'s Possessor] delivery truck [the company truck that Mary drives as an employee]"]

There may be an implicit piece of property of which the stated item is a part:

- [ex 023 "[pspecial My en/my Possessor] windshield (= the windshield of my vehicle) is foggy. [contrast [exref 017 Gestalt]]"]

A wearer of attire may be construed in multiple ways:

| | |
------------|------------
[ex 007 "the cloak [p en/of Possessor] He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"]|[ex 008 "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named[p en/'s Possessor] cloak"]

- [ex 009 "the cloak [p en/on Possessor--Locus] He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named ([ss Possessor--Locus])"]

__Pets__, by default, are treated as property rather than family members ([exref 003 Possessor]).


## Abstract possession

For [ss Possessor]/[ss Possession] to apply to an abstract piece of property, the property must be a commodity in the financial/commercial domain, or information stored externally to the [ss Possessor] in physical or electronic media.

- Commodity:
     * [ex 011 "[p en/my Possessor] shares of stock"]
     * [ex 012 "[p en/my Possessor] insurance (= insurance that I “own”)"]
- Stored information:
     * [ex 013 "[p en/my Possessor] computer file"]
     * [ex 014 "[p en/my Possessor] website"]
     * [ex 024 "the campaign[p en/'s Possessor] email list"]
     * [ex 015 "[p en/my Possessor] contract"]

This excludes other abstract notions that can be metaphorically possessed or transferred:

- [ex 016 "the president[p en/'s Gestalt] power ([ss Gestalt]) ([exref 014 Gestalt])"]
- [ex 017 "[p en/my Experiencer--Gestalt] memories of childhood ([ss Experiencer--Gestalt])"]

## Creation or transfer of an item

[ss Originator] should be preferred as the scene role wherever it is clear that the party in question created the item:

- [ex 018 "Rodin[p en/'s Originator--Gestalt] sculptures" "[exref 009 Originator]"]
- [ex 019 "the restaurant[p en/'s Originator--Gestalt] food" "[exref 011 Originator]"]

In cases of *explicit* transfer, the initial possessor of something is labeled [ss Originator], and the final possessor of something transferred is the [ss Recipient].
However, when there is a possessed item whose transfer is merely assumed from context or world knowledge (and the party in question is not the creator), default to [ss Possessor]:

- [ex 020 "The <u>shopkeeper[p en/'s Possessor]</u>/<u>store[p en/'s Possessor]</u> merchandise is fantastic. [item to be sold]"]
- [ex 021 "Waiter, is [p en/my Possessor] food ready? [item identified or ordered for purchase]"]
- [ex 022 "Use [p en/my Possessor] money (the money that I gave you) wisely! [item that was transferred]"]

Possessed nouns like *gift* and *contribution* that refer to an entity but lexically imply a previous transfer event should be [ss Possessor] unless another argument of the noun disambiguates [ss Originator] vs. [ss Recipient] by process of elimination:

- [ex 025 "That was [p en/my Possessor] gift. ([ss Possessor])"]
- [ex 026 "That was [p en/my Originator--Gestalt] gift to<sub>[ss Recipient--Goal]</sub> John. ([ss Originator--Gestalt])"]
- [ex 027 "That was [p en/my Recipient--Gestalt] gift from<sub>[ss Originator--Source]</sub> Mary. ([ss Recipient--Gestalt])"]


## Communication

Communicative acts are treated as transfer of information, and thus  [ss Originator] and [ss Recipient] apply to the communicator and addressee, respectively.


See also [ss Ancillary], [ss Beneficiary], [ss Org], [ss OrgMember], and [Genitives/Possessives](/en/genitivespossessives).