Syntax

Syntactic actants

Actant 1: whose chin it is
(a) Genitive
(b) Possessive
Мать потрогала подбородок Пети. Mother touched Petya's chin.
Мать потрогала петин подбородок. Mother touched Petya's chin.
Его колючий подбородок упирался мне в плечо. His prickly chin was resting on my shoulder.
NB When the word подбородок functions as a subject and does not have a descriptive modifier, the construction подбородок у + Genitive is often preferred to (a) and (b), above:
Подбородок у него был колючий. His chin was prickly.