Possessive - 의

Possessive - 의

Rule
● Add    의 to a noun. (Note: mainly used in a written form)
Eg.
•   나 +  →   의 나의 = my
•   너 +  →   의 너의 = your
•   그 +  →   의 그의 = his
•   그녀 +  →   의 그녀의 = her
However, in most spoken Korean, they are simplified for easier pronunciation.
Eg.
• →  나의 내
• →   너의 네 (pronounced 니)
•그의/ →  그녀의 쟤,   걔 (not commonly used)
•누가(who) →    누구 (whose)
For all possessives, only    내 and 네(니) are commonly used in spoken Korean. In most cases    의 is
omitted.
Eg.
•My car =    내 차
•Your shoes =    네 신발 (pronounced    니 신발)
•Michael's car =    마이클의 자동차 (written form) or    마이클 차 (spoken form)
Notice that    의 has been omitted, and    자동차 has been simplified to 차.
•   누구 차야? (Whose car is it?)
•   마이클 (차) (You can either answer by saying    마이클 or    마이클 차)
In spoken Korean, 'he/she' or 'his/her' are rarely (almost never) used. Instead, his/her name is
addressed as a subject in a first sentence, and then omitted for sentences following. This is the same
for possessive forms. Instead of 'his/her', 'Michael's/Lisa's' are used.
Eg.
•Lisa's friend1:     리사 가방 진짜 예뻐. (Lisa's handbag is really pretty)
•Lisa's friend2: 진짜?     나도 그거 사고 싶다. (Really? I, too, want to buy that)
Another thing to note is that    네 is attached to a personal name if a noun being possessed is a
group/organisation. (Spoken Form)
•Lisa's friend1:      리사네 집 진짜 커 (Lisa's house is really big)
•Lisa's friend2:    리사네 학교도 커. (Lisa's school, too, is big)

Note: A school, house, company and country are some of the 'group/organisation' nouns that require
네 attached to a personal name which are being possessive. Any other personal items such as one's
bag, car and so on do not need    네 attached to a personal name.