Timeline for "A car of the family" to mean "one of the family's car"?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
9 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 2021 at 2:21 | vote | accept | VinceL | ||
| Feb 19, 2021 at 13:50 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | In almost all contexts, structures such as "the car of the girl" or "the hat of a rock star" just imply "non-native speaker". Native Anglophones in most contexts would refer to the girl's car, a rock star's hat. But any implication as to "how many" is contained in the article (the car of John's = he probably only has one car; a car of John's = he probably has several cars). | |
| Feb 19, 2021 at 11:37 | comment | added | VinceL | Thank you for providing another answer. I have read it. So, in conclusion, I can safely say "The X of Y" structures such as "the car of the girl" or "the hat of a rock star" don't imply how many the things are, right? | |
| Feb 19, 2021 at 11:23 | comment | added | Kate Bunting | On reflection, perhaps I was over-hasty in saying that - see this earlier question. | |
| Feb 19, 2021 at 10:25 | comment | added | VinceL | Thank you for reply. In terms of the structure "The X of Y", do "the son of an woman" and "the son of the woman" both imply that she has one son only? Does it depend on the context or emphasis? | |
| Feb 19, 2021 at 10:15 | comment | added | Kate Bunting | They are grammatically correct, but would never be used in ordinary speech, unless perhaps the speaker was going on to say something else about the owner. "That's the car of the girl I was telling you about earlier." | |
| Feb 19, 2021 at 10:13 | comment | added | VinceL | In terms of the structure "The X of Y", do "the son of "an" old woman" imply that she has one son only? | |
| Feb 19, 2021 at 9:58 | comment | added | VinceL | Thank you for your answer. Are "the car of the girl" or "the hat of the lawyer" correct? Can I use them? I have heard that animate beings are not usually used with that structure. What do you think? | |
| Feb 19, 2021 at 9:41 | history | answered | Kate Bunting | CC BY-SA 4.0 |