Questions tagged [possessives]
for questions about words and word forms used to indicate ownership, belonging, or a similar relationship.
644
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Interpretation of saxon-genitives in various contexts
For saxon-genitives I am trying to figure out how they interact with articles and what they can mean. Consider the following imaginary situations:
Suppose a person & their friend are talking ...
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a ten-minute talk/walk VERSUS ten minutes' talk/walk
I have come across an opinion of a native speaker that:
a ten-minute talk - correct
ten minutes' talk - wrong
a ten-minute walk - correct
ten minutes' walk - correct
I can't come up with the ...
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How to properly use possessives when you refer to the death of a person?
I'm wondering, what would be the grammatically correct form when you refer to the death of a close relative/important person/anyone? I have found these two cases on Google:
The death of my wife.
My ...
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1
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Restaurant value or restaurant's value
I'm confused.
What is another way to say "the value of the restaurant" or "the target audience of the restaurant"?
Is it ok to say "restaurant's value or restaurant's target ...
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Bob Marley music or Bob Marley's music
Which of these sentences would you say? I think they're both idiomatic. What's the difference between them?
I listen to Bob Marley music.
or
I listen to Bob Marley's music.
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"list items" or "list's item": A compound noun or possessive?
If we are referring the items belong to a list, it sounds like a list in this case is a possessive noun: "the items of a list".
However, the google says that a form "the list items"...
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... mankind and man's place
For people do not and cannot think in isolation from society, and therefore from the class interests and class struggles which pervade society, any more than they can live and act in such isolation. A ...
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My / her - word choice
Which of the two options is more appropriate for this sentence? Why?
I am a 25-year-old girl who likes interacting with people and practising my / her English.
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Apostrophe on hours’ or not [duplicate]
Can someone tell me if “We can call out within 24 hours' notice or can arrange a day that best suits you.” Is grammatically correct with the apostrophe after the ‘s’ on the word hours? Or would there ...
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It's vs its on social media username context
I'm not a native speaker and just realize there is a difference between "it's" and "its". I still have a little bit confused in some contexts. As an example, on social media ...
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Which is grammatically correct, and why?
Are you a parent who wants the best for their kids?
Are you a parent who wants the best for your kids?
Opppppe
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our readers thought that
a. When that article was published, readers thought that the policy of our journal had changed.
b. When that article was published, the readers thought that the policy of our journal had changed.
c. ...
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Pete's and Tom's computers
a. Pete's and Tom's computers were stolen.
Could the sentence be used if each had one computer?
Could the sentence be used if one had one computer and the other had more?
Could the sentence be used if ...
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1
vote
1
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his guests would notice it
a. Jeff's friends went to Sally's place and talked to her father.
Does that necessarily mean all of Jeff's friends went to Sally's place and talked to her father?
b. I knew that if I gave the flash ...
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1 a women's stereotype 2 a woman's stereotype 3 women's stereotype 4 a woman stereotype - what's the difference?
1 a women's stereotype
2 a woman's stereotype
3 women's stereotype
4 a woman stereotype
What do they mean?
My take
1 a stereotype which women have about something
2 a stereotype which women have ...
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What is the possessive form of "Macy's"? [duplicate]
Basic rules:
For a singular noun ending with no "s," we add an apostrophe and s at the end.<br />
For a plural noun ending with no "s," we add an apostrophe and s at the end.&...
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Repeated possessive (ex. 'of mine,' or 'of Trump's')
Mr. Brooks, a hard-right Republican and a once-fierce ally of Mr. Trump’s whom the former president has accused of becoming “woke,” has drawn intense scrutiny for his actions preceding the violence on ...
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Did I use the gerund "companies advertising snacks..." properly, or should it be "companies' advertising snacks"? [duplicate]
Companies advertising snacks in an attractive manner entices children into buying them.
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Apostrophe s after subject meaning place
I've already heard the 's usage in sentences that seemed like
"I went to the doctor's"
"I'm going to my mom's"
Is this a possessive usage of 's? Is it correct and/or common?
I ...
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Can I use both “of”and “‘s” to show possession for people?
I have just read from the Cambridge Essential Grammar in Use series that for people we normally use “‘s” to show possession and “of” for things, but I have been using both “‘s” and “of” for both ...
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Is "they" use correct in the sentence of "If the current player is unable to make a move, they lose the game" [duplicate]
I encountered a sentence, it says "If the current player is unable to make a move, they lose the game". I wonder whether they usage is correct.
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the courage of that man
a. He mentioned the courage of Tom.
b. He mentioned the courage of President Dubcek during the Prague Spring.
Do you find these sentences grammatically correct?
Do you find them natural?
I think ...
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a house of ghosts [closed]
a. People used to think that that lone house on the hill was a house of ghosts.
I don't think 'of' here indicates ownership. I think it is just attributive and shows that the house was haunted. Is ...
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Using 's for "ancestors"
Majumder grew up in the house of his _______.
ancestors'
ancestor
Which one of these should I use?
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women's vs woman's [closed]
Are the following sentences correct?
These are women’s accessories. They are not men’s.
These are lady’s high heels. They are obviously not men’s.
This isn’t a woman’s vest. It’s a man’s.
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“Office of the director” or “Director’s Office”?
I learn English for years and this is something I don’t understand completely.
In my natural language, If I want to say, for example, that an office belongs to a director, I say, “escritório do ...
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“Which pencil of mine”
Is this sentence correct?
Which pencil of mine did you take?
or is it grammatically wrong and I should say, “Which of my pencils did you take” which I am sure is grammatically correct? “Which pencil ...
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Is it "dog and cat'S communication skills" OR "dog'S and cat'S communication skills"? [duplicate]
Should it be dog's and cat's skills because the possession is separate ownership and not shared?
I have a theory:
Despite the fact that dog or cat's communication skills are not shared, it's the same ...
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2
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Should I use possessive + gerund structure or reduced participial clause?
I haven't seen a perfect participle in a reduced form (I know some aren't keen on using this) so often (eg: a house having burnt). Is it still okay to use it as in the first sentence below, or does ...
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apostrophe after "is a ... of the King('s)"?
Famine is a major concern of the King
If the King is concerned about famine, should the above sentence end "King's" instead?
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Can I say my hobby is my + noun?
I know I can say: My hobby is swimming. But when I'm told to tell which part of speech "swimming" is, I still doubt whether It's a noun or a verb. My guess is I put a noun after "hobby ...
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If I want to avoid the possessive apostrophe, could I write "John his new tires are great" instead of "John's tires are great"?
How to rewrite a sentence to avoid the possessive apostrophe?
Why? I have been told to avoid apostrophes altogether for international English as it's confusing. This is easily done for contractions ...
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actors' or actor's?
Following text excerpt:
…it would have been important to work with real-life photographs of
the actors' faces and to…
Is actors', in this case, correct? – Or should it be:
…it would have been ...
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Should it be "bachelor's program" or "bachelor program"?
I know it should be written "bachelor's degree",
but what a study program that leads students to a bachelor's degree?
Should it be "bachelor's program" or "bachelor program&...
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"The friend of John who I hate" vs "John's friend who I hate" [duplicate]
On another language forum, I was told that sentences like,
This is John's friend who I hate.
This is my car which I've had for two years.
etc. are wrong and we should say these instead:
This is ...
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When to use possessive S? [duplicate]
I have a big problem about when I must use possessive "S". I've tried so many times to understand its indication, but I failed. it may appears easy, but for me it's very confusing, let me ...
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my father's cousin's husband
a. I was driving around in my car with my brother.
Does that imply that I have only one brother?
=======================================
b. My sister's co-worker's husband is an engineer.
Does that ...
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1
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Indicating possession with multiple owners, the last being in pronoun form
The usual rule for indicating multiple owners using using apostrophe-s is to omit 's from all except the last owner in the list. So:
Tom, Dick, and Harry's car is the blue one.
But what if I am one ...
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the dog's barking/the dog barking
a. The dog barking was coming from the house next door.
b. The dog's barking was coming from the house next door.
It seems to me that in (a) the dog is coming from the house next door while in (b) ...
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Is it apostrophe-s or only the apostrophe for singular nouns ending in -s?
This page gives the following examples of correct punctuation showing possession for singular nouns ending in -s:
Thomas's job
the bus's arrival
James's fiancée
Steve Davis's victory
VS
Socrates' ...
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Possessive Case with a Name and a Pronoun
How do I change, for example, "the party/wedding/relationship/... of John and I" into the possessive case (possessive using 's)?
My train of thought goes a little something like this:
The ...
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that cousin of Jane
a. That cousin of Jane who is a doctor was at the party.
(That cousin, not the other cousin or cousins. That specific one)
b. That door of the house that faces east was damaged.
(That door, not the ...
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that brother of Jane who is
a. I am talking about the brother of Jane who is a doctor.
b. I am talking about that brother of Jane who is a doctor.
c. I am talking about the brother of Jane, who is a doctor.
d. I am talking about ...
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the page of the book
a. He tore off the page of the book on which I had written my name.
I'd assume that I had written my name on the page. Is that correct?
==========================
b. He tore off the first page of ...
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the houses of you and
a. I will bring down the ceiling on the heads of you and your father if you don't come out of your house.
b. Thieves broke into the houses of Tom and his neighbors.
c. Thieves broke into the houses of ...
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An old Jeff Buckley('s) song
I wonder about the possessive here. If we add "'s," in my opinion, the phrase will mean that Jeff is old, not the song. However, I saw the phrase like this, without possessive, and am ...
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What would be correct "Businessman's club" or "Businessmen's club"?
What would be correct "Businessman's club" or "Businessmen's club"? If there is a difference, British version.
(just in case, or "Businessman club" or "Businessmen ...
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I was at my parents. Vs. I was at my parents'./I was at Chris. vs. I was at Chris's
I am wondering which sentences from the following sentences is correct:
I was at my parents.
or
I was at my parents'.
I was at Chris.
or
I was at Chris's.
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Should we use possession or can we consider nouns as adjectives?
I very often come across different words which I need to use as nouns or as adjectives. For some words I can look up in a dictionary whether they can be an adjectives or not. But many of them are not ...
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I will invite my friends
a) If we go on a picnic, I will invite my friends and you invite yours.
b) I used to hang out with my friends in that gym.
Does 'my friends' in these sentences mean 'all of my friends' or could it ...
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