The Possessive Form of Nouns
| A. to make the possessive form of nouns in writing we add ‘s to singular nouns and to irregular plurals that don’t end in –s. After regular plurals we use only an apostrophe ( ‘ ):
Mike’s car, the women’s liberation movement, the girls’ names
B. the possessive form of nouns is used with
1. An organization (=a group of people), ships & boats, animals; names of people to mean’s house
e.g. the company’s decision, the ship’ s captain, We met at Bill’s, the horse’s tail
2. Places: town, city, country, river, ocean, world, names of the countries
e.g. the city’s new centre, Britain’s government, the world’s population,
3. Time & distance
e.g. an hour’s rest, in two years’ time
4. Time words
e.g. yesterday’s paper, Sunday’s dinner
ten minutes’ break or a ten-minute break
Note: Burns’ [iz] poems or Burns’s poems
Dickens’ works/Dickens’s works, prince’s adventures
| C. We can use ‘s without the following noun:
e.g. a/the baker’s/butcher’s/ chemist’s
( it means a/the baker’s shop etc.) or if the meaning is also clear:
Whose hat is that? – Richard’s.
We are going to Linda’s for the evening (=Linda’s home).
D. It can also be used after the initials (прописные буквы) e.g. the MP’s secretary,
the MP’s briefcase;
& the names of the owners of some business:
Selfridge’s, Claridge’s Sotheby’s, Woolworth’s
But Mark & Spencer, Harrods,
Foylers
E. In compounds & names consisting of several words the last word takes ‘s
e.g. My sister-in-law’s book,
Henry the Eight’s wives, the Prince of Wale’s plane,
Jack and Jill’s wedding
Note: When the possessive case is used, the article before the person or thing “possessed” disappears: the question of the teacher = the teacher’s question
!!! - We can have two genitives together:
e.g. We were beginning to get fed up with our neighbour’s tenant’s music.
- when the nouns do not form a single group we must use ‘s with both nouns:
e.g. Schrodinger’s & Heisenberg’s versions of quantum mechanics had seemed different. (two versions of the theory)
| F. The of-phrase is used :
· Things, ideas
e.g. the roof of the house, the title of the book, the owner of the bar
But we can say:
the company’s decision or the decision of the company
We normally use of with the beginning/end/ top/bottom/ front/back/middle/side etc.
e.g. the back of the car, the beginning of the year
· With inanimate nouns
· When we are talking about a process, or a change over time
· With a long noun phrase
The cover of the book, the construction of the office block, the establishment of the committee, the destruction of the forest;
What is the name of the man who lent us the money? (“the man who lent us the money” is too long to be followed by-‘s)
Often we can use the possessive ‘s or of+ noun with very little difference in meaning:
Ireland’s beauty - the beauty of Ireland
But we prefer ‘s:
· When the noun refers to a particular person or group of people. John’s illness rather than the illness of John;
· The children’s coats rather than the coats of the children;
· When we’re talking about time. Next year’s holiday, last night’s TV programmes
Note: two weeks’ holiday
but a two-week holiday
in two months’ time (two months from now)
a week’s wages (wages for a week), etc.
|
Exercises
| I. Join the two (or three) nouns. Use either ‘s or an of-phrase.
1 the owner/that car - the owner of that car
2 the mother/Ann – Ann’s mother
3 the jacket/ that man……………………………………..
4 the top/the page…………………………………………
5 the daughter/ Charles…………………………………..
6 the cause/ the problem………………………………….
7 the newspaper/ yesterday……………………………….
8 the birthday/ my father………………………………….
9 the name / this street……………………………….......
10 the toys/ the children……………………………………
| 11 the new manager/ the company……………………………………..
12 the result/ the football match……………………………………….
13 the garden/ our neighbours………………………………………….
14 the ground floor/ the building………………………………………
15 the children / Don and Mary……………………………………….
16 the economic policy/ the government………………………………
………………………………………………………………………….
17 the husband / Catherine…………………………………………….
18 the husband/ the woman talking to Mary………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………...
19 the car/ the parents/ Mike………………………………………...
20 the wedding/ the friend/ Helen
…………………………………………………………………………..
|
|
II. What is another way of saying these things? Use ‘s.
1 a hat for a woman – a woman’s hat
2 a name for a boy_________________________________
3 clothes for children_______________________________
|
4 a school for girls________________________________
5 a nest for a bird_________________________________
6 a magazine for women____________________________
|
|
III. Read each sentence and write a new sentence beginning with the underlined words.
1 The meeting tomorrow has been cancelled.
Tomorrow’s meeting has been cancelled.
2 The storm last week caused a lot of damage.
Last……………………………………………………….
|
3. The only cinema in the town has closed down.
The…………………………………………………………..
4. Exports from Britain to the United States have fallen recently
………………………………………………………………..
5. Tourism is the main industry in the region.
………………………………………………………………...
|
|
IV. Use the information given to complete the sentences.
1 If I leave my house at 9 o’clock and drive to London, I arrive at about 12.
So it’s about ......three..hours’ drive ..to London from my house (drive)
2 If I leave my house at 8.55 and walk to the station, I get there at 9 o’clock.
So it’s only ............................................................. from my house to the station (walk).
|
3 I’m going on holiday on the 12th. I have to be back at work on the 26th. So I’ve got .................................... …………..
( holiday).
4 I went to sleep at 3 o’clock this morning and woke up an hour later. After that I couldn’t sleep. So last night I only had ......................................................................... (sleep.)
|
| | | |
Exercises
I. If necessary, correct these sentences. If they are already correct put a *.
1 Tony computers have been stolen._______________________________________________________________
2 When the teacher had called out the girl’s names, they all stepped forward._______________________________
3 We had to study Charles Dicken’s early novels at school.______________________________________________
4 I went to the newsagent’s to buy a paper.__________________________________________________________
5 There were hundreds of bird’s nests in the trees._____________________________________________________
6 They’re my mother-in-law’s favourite sweets._______________________________________________________
7 I took the books to Lewis’ house yesterday._________________________________________________________
8 If they had been anyone else’s paintings I wouldn’t have gone to the exhibition.____________________________
9 She was a friend of my mothers.__________________________________________________________________
10 The world’s airline’s are moving towards a total ban on smoking________________________________________
11 The readers letters page in the newspaper is full of complaints about the article._____________________________
12 I met a cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh last week.____________________________________________________
II. Underline the answer which is correct or more likely.
1 I was surprised by the announcement of yesterday/ yesterday’s announcement.
2 They left their homes because of the extension of the airport/the airport’s extension.
3 The guitar play of David/David’s guitar playing has improved enormously.
4 The completion of the road/The road’s completion was ahead of schedule.
5 At the supermarket, I found the shopping list of last week/last week’s shopping list.
6 It’s the responsibility of the firm who built the houses/the firm who built the houses’ responsibility.
7 That isn’t much use, it’s the calendar of last year/last year’s calendar.
8 I was shocked by the opinion of Alice/ Alice’s opinion.
9 He gently patted the shoulder of his brother/ his brother’s shoulder.
10 He’s the friend of a man I know at work/ a man I know at work’s friend.
11 The evacuation of the building/The building’s evacuation took only 10 minutes.
III. Write a new sentence, using either ‘s or an of-phrase.
1 Andrew died. They were saddened to hear of this. They were saddened to hear of Andrew’s death.
2 The new rules were introduced. They protested about this.
________________________________________________________________________________________
3 Bill was rude. They were shocked by this.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
4 The railway line was extended. They were happy about this.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5 There was a fire this morning. They were lucky to escape it.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
