The semantic types of the English genitive:
1) the ‘genitive of possessor’ (The Possessive Genitive)
Christine’s living-room; the assistant manager’s desk; Dad’s earnings; Kate and Jerry’s grandparents.
The diagnostic test: Christine’s living-room – the living-room belongs to Christine (the idea of possession inherent in the form).
2) the ‘genitive of integer’/ the genitive of organic possession.
Jane’s busy hands; Patrick’s voice; the patient’s health; the hotel’s lobby.
Test: ...– the busy hands as part of Jane's person; ...– the health as part of the patient's state; ...– the lobby as a component part of the hotel, etc.
Its subtype is the ‘genitive of received qualification’(expresses a qualification received by the genitive referent through the headword).
Mr. Dodson’s vanity; the computer’s reliability.
3) the ‘genitive of agent’ (Subjective Genitive)
This form renders an activity or some broader processual relation with the referent of the genitive as its subject.
the great man's arrival; Peter's insistence; the councillor's attitude; Campbell Clark's gaze; the hotel's competitive position.
Test: ...→ the great man arrives; ...→ Peter insists; ...→ the hotel occupies a competitive position, etc.
A subtype of the agent genitive is the ‘genitive of author’ (expresses the author, the producer of the referent of the head-noun).
Beethoven's sonatas; John Galsworthy's "A Man of Property"; the committee's progress report.
Test: ...—» Beethoven has composed (is the author of) the sonatas; ...→ the committee has compiled (is the compiler of) the progress report, etc.
4) the "genitive of patient" (The Objective Genitive)
This type expresses the recipient of the action or process denoted by the head-noun.
the champion's sensational defeat; Erick's final expulsion; the meeting's chairman; the St Gregory's proprietor; the city's business leaders; the Titanic's tragedy.
Test: ...→ the champion is defeated (i.e. his opponent defeated him); ...→ Erick is expelled; ...→ the meeting is chaired by its chairman; ...→ the St Gregory is owned by its proprietor, etc.
5) the ‘genitive of destination’.
This form denotes the destination, or function of the referent of the head-noun.
women's footwear; children's verses; a fishers' tent.
Test: ...→ footwear for women; ...→ a tent for fishers, etc.
6) the ‘genitive of dispensed qualification’.
The meaning of this genitive type is some characteristic or qualification, not received, but given by the genitive noun to the referent of the head-noun.
a girl's voice; a book-keeper's statistics;
Test: ...→ a voice characteristic of a girl; ...→ statistics peculiar to a book-keeper's report;
Its subtype is the ‘genitive of comparison’.
the cock's self-confidence of the man; his perky sparrow's smile.
Test: ...→ the self-confidence like that of a cock; ...→ the smile making the man resemble a perky sparrow.
7) the ‘genitive of adverbial’.(Adverbial Genitive)
The form denotes adverbial factors relating to the referent of the head-noun (mostly the time and place of the event).
the evening's newspaper; yesterday's encounter; Moscow's talks.
Test: ...→ the newspaper issued in the evening; ...→ the encounter which took place yesterday; ...→the talks that were held in Moscow.
8) the ‘genitive of quantity’.
This type of genitive denotes the measure or quantity relating to the referent of the head-noun (mostly concerns units of distance measure, time measure, weight measure).
three miles' distance; an hour's delay; two months' time; a hundred tons' load.
Test: ...→ a distance the measure of which is three miles; ...→ a time lasting for two months; ...→ a load weighing a hundred tons.
The identified types are open both to subtype specifications, and inter-type generalisations (for instance, on the principle of the differentiation between subject-object relations), and the very set of primary types may be expanded.