Syntax

Syntactic actants

Actant 1: whose head and neck these are
(a) Genitive
(b) Possessive
Она видела перед собой затылок отца. She saw the back of her father's head in front of her.
Затылок его был совершенно седой. His hair was all grey in back.
NB When the word затылок functions as a subject and does not have a descriptive modifier, the construction затылок у + Genitive is often preferred to (a) and (b), above:
Затылок у него был совершенно седой. His hair was all grey in back.