Possession of objects express asymmetrical relation between subject and object or between two objects:

• one item is the part of another item or person;
• to mark owner of subject or object;
• to describe public/private property/ownership;
• object currently/temporarily is/was in close proximity with subject or another object;

Possessed object may be not materialistic but some abstract quality.

Nûrlâm do not differentiate grammatically between alienable (like money) and inalienable (e.g. parts of body, person's relatives) possession.

Possession may be expressed grammatically by:

1. objects in genitive case (-ob);
2. objects in comitative case (-sha);
3. certain verbs: “brus-” (to have got), “tabz-” (to own, possess) and others.

Impersonal existential clauses are not used in Nûrlâm to express possession as in Russian and some Uralic languages.

Negated possession (absence) may be expressed differently.

Cases are used to avoid complex sentences when the fact of possession is not the topic.

Nûrlâm do not have distinct possessive case, but genitive case is the most common way to mark owner (possessor) of subject or object. Possessive expression in that case may be considered as modifier. When the possessor is a one-syllable long pronoun it may join the possessed noun as clitic.

Example 1: “His house is huge” = “Dârtab (kulâ) bhâ”.

Example 2: “They came to the forest of elves” = “Takskâtuz tauzu golugob”

Comitative case (clitic postposition -sha, mostly identical to English preposition “with”) may be sometimes used to mark the property (the possessed) of subject or object. Such expressions are also considered as modifiers. Usually comitative case means that marked noun is the part of subject or another object.

Example 1: “Orc with knife is terrorizing the local area” = “Uruk karmsha gothuglâ hofum”¹⁾

Example 2: “Mug is a beaker with handle” = “Zân kulâ kolk unralsha”

Verbs may carry more nuances of ownership and used when the fact of possession is the topic of sentence.

These verbs indicate current relation between subject and object as possession without changing their status.

“Brus-” (to have got) and “tabz-” (to own, possess) show that subject is owner and object is a property. Verbs “fîth-” and “unr-” (to keep, hold) and “durb-” (control, rule over) indirectly have the similar function. But the roles of subject and object may be inverted if these verbs are used in passive voice.

Example 1: “Uruk brusâ ash karm” = “Orc has a knife”

Example 2: “Karm kulâ tabzag urukirzi” = “Knife is owned by the orc”

The verb “aud-” (to belong) shows that subject is a property and the object is an owner. Direct object is required to be in Dative case. This verb cannot be in passive voice, as it's already turns subject into patient of an action.

Example: “Karm audâ urukûr” = “Knife belongs to orc”

The verb “kul-” (to be) may replace all these verbs. But then possessor should be marked with genitive case and the possession with comitative case.

Example 1: “Za karm kulâ urukob” = “This knife is orc's”

Example 2: “Za uruk kulâ karmsha” = “This orc is with knife”

There are many verbs that indicate changing of ownership: “throg-” (to give), “nork-” (to take) and others. They may state that ownership is obtained or lost with optional mentioning of new or old owner as indirect object. If verb means that it's indirect object is the new owner, than Dative case is used; if it's indirect object is the old owner, than Ablative case is used. The roles of subject and object may be inverted by placing the verb into passive voice, then direct object must be in Instrumental case.

The following verbs usually indicate obtaining the ownership over the direct object:

• brash- (get, gain, obtain, retrieve)
• dik- (capture)
• gamb- (earn, gain a reward)
• gimb- (find, seek out, discover)
• krimp- (bind, tie)
• nânt- (receive, acquire, get)
• nork- (take)
• orsk- (steal)
• paik- (conquer)
• rop- (seize, grab, grasp, grip)
• snab- (get, acquire, lay hold of, take)
• thrak- (to bring, hale, drag)
• tidurb- (conquer)
• tûz- (buy, purchase, trade)

Many of these verbs may have two indirect objects: new owner in dative case and old owner in ablative case, if the action was performed by subject which didn't got ownership at the end (e.g. on behalf of other person), only temporarily. Moreover the first owner or creator of object may be expressed by possessive phrase modifying the direct object, and there may be up to 4 participants (but such phrases are very confusing and not recommended to use). Some of these verbs may have no objects at all, but then they stop indicate changing of possessor and refer to regular action.

The following verbs indicate loosing the ownership:

• af- (throw, cast, toss)
• bûf- (lose)
• draug (sell)
• hud- (throw, cast, toss)
• rang- (abandon, leave)
• throg- (give, grant, yield, tribute, make gift, bestow, endow, indue)

The verb “praush-” (to trade, exchange the loot) express both obtaining and loosing the ownership. New owner (indirect object) should be marked with comitative case.

• Wordlist: Ownership