Description and possession

An adjective describes a noun. When an Egyptian adjective modifies a noun directly, it normally follows it and agrees with its gender and number. ⁹

The table isolates regular patterns. An inscription may leave some endings unwritten. The meaning of nfr also depends on what is being described: “good”, “beautiful” and “fine” can each be appropriate.

Saying that something belongs to someone

Egyptian can place two nouns together in a direct genitive. The first names the thing or relationship; the second identifies its possessor or connection. In pr sn, “the brother’s house”, pr is the house and sn identifies whose house it is. ¹⁰

An indirect genitive uses a connecting word conventionally translated “of”. Its regular forms include n for a masculine singular governing noun, nt for a feminine singular, nw for a masculine plural and nt for a feminine plural. The agreement is with the first noun, the thing being connected to its possessor.

For example, pr n sn also means “the house of the brother”. These constructions can express wider relationships, not just ownership. Follow the construction found in the actual text rather than assuming that the two patterns can always be freely exchanged. ¹⁰

Pointing to a particular noun

Demonstratives identify something as “this” or “that”. A common pair is pn with a masculine singular noun and tn with a feminine singular noun. In these patterns, they follow the noun: pr pn, “this house”; sn.t tn, “this sister”. Egyptian has other demonstrative series, which you will meet in further study. ¹¹