L1.6: The Determinative Pronoun ša#

The Determinative pronoun ša means ‘the one of’ and has three functions:

Without a Reference Word#

It can be used without a reference word. In this case it means ‘the one of’, ‘something of’.

Example

  • ša ekallim = (something) of the palace

  • ša bābilim = the one of Babylon.

Warning

Nouns after ša are in genitive.

With a Reference Word#

It can refere to a word that is placed before the determinative. It is used instead of a status constructus.

Example

  • šarrum ša bābilim = ‘(The) king of Babylon’ (lit. The King, the one of Babylon)

  • bēlum ša ālim = ‘(The) lord of the city’ (lit. ‘The Lord, the one of the city’)

For Relative Clauses#

For this function 👉GoA 19.3