Questions tagged [possessives]
for questions about words and word forms used to indicate ownership, belonging, or a similar relationship.
9
votes
2answers
2k views
The key to my room. Vs The key of my room
To. Vs of
I am looking for the key of my room.
I am looking for the key to my room.
I have just known that the second is right and the first is wrong. However, sometimes it is ...
0
votes
2answers
27 views
insist on somebody('s) doing something
Which of the two sentences below is correct?
Why do you insist so much on your child learning your native language?
or:
Why do you insist so much on your child's learning your native language?
0
votes
2answers
38 views
sheep's opinion or opinion of the sheep
This is a famous game of thrones quote:
The lion does not concern himself with the opinion of the sheep.
what is the difference between this sentence and this sentence:
The lion does not ...
1
vote
2answers
22 views
“Your face looks like my sister's friend face” or “my sister's friend”?
Which sentence should I use to show that she has the same face and should I use feature instead of face?
"Your face looks like my sister's friend face"
or just
"Your face looks like my sister'...
1
vote
1answer
35 views
Do I have to repeat possessive pronouns in a list?
Would it be okay to write:
Nevertheless, we will analyze it because of its straightforward computation, prevalence in research and lack of qualitatively different results with other measures.
or ...
13
votes
4answers
237 views
Why “The blog of Bill Gates” and not “The Bill Gates' blog”?
Let's open https://www.gatesnotes.com/
The title of the site is "The blog of Bill Gates"
Why "The blog of Bill Gates" and not "The Bill Gates' blog"?
Is it the possessive case or not?
0
votes
1answer
38 views
singular or plural : doctor's bills?
Should I use "doctor's bills" or "doctors' bills" in the following?
All the money went on doctor’s bills.
I'd appreciate your help.
3
votes
1answer
43 views
Gym changing room, why gym not genitive
In an English study book a task consisted of listening and writing down what you heard. One of the sentences was:
Fiona and Charlotte met in the gym changing room.
Why is the above correct? The ...
2
votes
3answers
66 views
A (Director's name) movie - why not possessive?
I have just watched a movie and noticed, during the opening credits:
A James Cameron movie
Why it is not "James Cameron's movie" when it actually is his film (in a sense that he directed it). Why ...
-1
votes
1answer
33 views
using of possessive pronoun
The house is not only wives but husbands too, the children are not only mothers, fathers too.
The house is not only of wives but husbands too, the children are not only of mothers, fathers too.
2
votes
2answers
65 views
Is “profit” a special case?
Company profits are down from last year's figures.
(Copied from Cambridge dictionary.)
1) Why don't we use a possessive s?
2) Why do we use plural profits?
3) Why don't we use “the”? When you ...
0
votes
1answer
48 views
Where should the apostrophe go in “Cas's Cookies”?
My name is Cas and I make cookies to sell. I call my little enterprise Cas's Cookies. Is this the proper use of an apostrophe?
If I put the apostrophe after the second s then it changes my name to ...
1
vote
1answer
93 views
Do you have a pen? Can such sentences be converted into passive form?
Do you have a pen?
The verb in the question is "have" which is a possessive verb. Can such questions be asked in passive form?
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Why is “several two hours' meetings” wrong?
Why is "several two hours' meetings" wrong? Any insight will be greatly appreciated.
It is from an ECPE practice exam grammar section question.
The boss won't be able to see you today as he has ...
1
vote
1answer
35 views
Plural possessive apostrophe with hyphen
I incorrectly assumed the following question involved plural possession. However, even if it did, is it ever acceptable to use an apostrophe for plural possession in a hyphenated word like this?
...
1
vote
2answers
287 views
Difference between students' vs students
I'm having difficulty understanding when to use students' vs students. I know you use students' when you're talking about more than one student. For example: "The students' homeworks were marked". ...
0
votes
1answer
41 views
police entering … is illegal
Is the apostrophe "s" necessary in the following?
Police('s) entering a private house without a warrant is illegal.
I'd appreciate your help.
0
votes
1answer
91 views
Heard (his saying/him saying/him say)
When telling somebody what you did in order to get (to discover, to see) what somebody else did, what should I say?
For example:
Let me hear you say "i got it!"
So I do something in order to get (in ...
1
vote
1answer
21 views
can possessive of a noun come before the noun
I have been having some problem with this sentence.
In Blood Creator, his greedy nature and obsessiveness are used as the most significant traits in the characterization of James.
As you can see ...
1
vote
1answer
61 views
Possession or adjective: “Google's products” vs. “Google products” [closed]
My major responsibility is tuning search results on for several of Google's products.
Is the above sentence correct or should I use Google instead of Google's?
2
votes
2answers
52 views
Can I use the pronoun “who” after an English possessive to refer to the possessor?
Then Mark held Mary's hand, who was still terrified. (Meaning, "Then
Mark held Mary's hand, Mary being still terrified.)
Can I use the pronoun "who" in this case, even if the preceding word is not ...
1
vote
2answers
33 views
Peeves’ or Peeves’s?
Why would Filch from Harry Potter 2 say: “… go now, I have to write up Peeves’ report … go …”
Would saying Peeves’s have been a mistake?
1
vote
1answer
61 views
What is the meaning of 's in “eat at Joe's”?
When I learned English at school 's was described as the mark of possession, a case of genitive.
But in the rhetorical Eat at Joe's, what does the 's mean exactly. Is it a shortcut for Joe's place or ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
Yours Lovingly and Yours Loving [closed]
Can an informal Letter end as:
1) Yours Loving,
John
OR
2) Yours Lovingly,
John
OR
3) Your Loving Son,
John
I guess the 2nd and the 3rd ones are okay; I'm not sure about the 1st one, please help....
1
vote
1answer
30 views
Multiple definite articles
The example:
"The/- managers of the/- individual centers will attend the upcoming meeting."
Should I use both definite articles or not when I talk, in this case, about specific managers in charge ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
Second “s” in names that ends with the s [duplicate]
Well, it's one particular name from One-Punch Man, Genos.
Sometimes i see it's written as Geno's arm/body parts or something along the line, but not the Genos's arm/body parts.
Where did second s go?
0
votes
3answers
75 views
Can we say “The sound of what is this?” or “This is the sound of what?” (American English)
In American English, can we say either of these sentences interchangeably?
The sound of what is this?
This is the sound of what?
Context: Imagine I heard a sound at home which sounds like it ...
2
votes
3answers
80 views
Use of '“s” only in possession? [duplicate]
I am writing a scientific paper and I wonder if 's is only used refering to a possession.
For example, I think "bird's feathers" is a correct expression, but I wonder if "bird's exposure", meaning ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
Usage of “be of”
I've just read an article and saw this sentence:
Hence, characterization of squat cracks is of particular interest for this research.
Why is there a of? If I restructured this like "... cracks is ...
1
vote
2answers
38 views
possessive needed? …“to impact patients' lives by…”
Is a possessive needed on the word patients in the following mission statement? I feel it clutters the phrase somewhat and need advice.
To meaningfully impact patients' lives by democratizing ...
4
votes
1answer
54 views
What is the possessive of Saint John's?
We have a city here in Canada named Saint John's. It is always spelt that way; the 's is part of the name (this must be a very unusual case, I'm not sure).
What would be the correct way to refer to ...
1
vote
2answers
296 views
“the legs of the table” vs “the table's legs”
I got this quiz:
The carpenter repaired __ .
(A) the table's legs
(B) table's legs
(C) legs of the table
(D) the legs of the table
...which says the right answer is D. But I ...
1
vote
1answer
108 views
How to compose a sentence for possession? Apostrophe or preposition?
I would like to know the difference between these sentences:
I have never seen any of his father's cars (I think it's correct). I have never seen any cars of his father (I think it's wrong).
In ...
0
votes
2answers
142 views
Whom I am teaching?
Is "whom" in that sentence correct?
She's a mother of one of my students whom I am teaching on Skype
2
votes
1answer
397 views
“drivers” or “driver's”?
The Autopilot feature is designed to allow Teslas to cruise highways without drivers steering, braking or accelerating.
Source: Mosher, Alexandra, “Tesla drivers play Jenga, sleep, using Autopilot in ...
0
votes
2answers
81 views
Are possessive nouns with apostrophe plural?
The center's much-hyped attempt to privatise Air India by disinvesting 74 percent equity has come a cropper.
I am still not able to understand how "attempt" is considered as noun rather then verb.
...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
Which order is correct - mountains’ structure or the structure of mountains [duplicate]
A grammar book says that ‘the book’s cover’ is incorrect and wrong... and it should be written using preposition of as ‘the cover of the book.’
A posting here says that possessive can be used with in ...
1
vote
1answer
48 views
Possessive case in 'Jacobi identity'
I am not sure this is the right place to ask, but I give it a try anyway.
I am reading a book about how to write math. At some point the author shows the grammar rule for the possessive case: e.g. ...
1
vote
1answer
68 views
Question about genitive case
How should I put the genitive case in this sentence:
The investors’ and businessmen’s trust.
Or
The investors and businessmen’s trust.
I know if two nouns are sharing something we ...
0
votes
1answer
102 views
I had handed in projects which were past the deadline
Let's say you were storytelling your past academic shortcomings. And you say:
"I was not a perfect student when I was still studying at school. For instance, I had handed in projects which were ...
3
votes
2answers
47 views
When can two pronouns being compared in a sentence be of different types?
I came across a sentence on one of the pages on stackexchange today -
He resents your being more popular than he is
I always thought that while comparing two pronouns they should always be of the ...
2
votes
1answer
26 views
What is the difference between using in possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns structures?
What is the difference between using in possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns structures?
For example:
You car is faster than my car. (possessive adjective)
Versus
Your car is ...
2
votes
1answer
21 views
Possesive Adjective Problem
Which one is true when the gender of the person is not accurate?
The writer must state his/her own opinions in the paper
The writer must state its own opinions in the paper
1
vote
1answer
17 views
Today's departure or Today departure
I write this phrase every day in my emails and every time it bothers me which way is correct.
"Please assist with today departure". (or today's departure).
"Cargo will leave on today flight". (or ...
0
votes
2answers
51 views
The Use of s-Genitive
I'm writing my essay about corruption (Part II.) and I have already come across two words (one of which is rewritten for political reasons)...
MAMESZ
and
police
...that have to be put into the ...
0
votes
0answers
44 views
Apostrophe placement on ambiguous singular/plural possession
I am wondering where the correct apostrophe placement is in the following. In mathematics and other areas of science, a theorem may be attributed to more than one person, for instance
the Berger-...
0
votes
1answer
92 views
Why do they use “her” for Titanic?
I was reading the Wikipedia's page on RMS Titanic and just noticed numerous references to the ship by possessive her.
Why don't they simply use "its" for Titanic?
3
votes
2answers
71 views
Galois Theory — an implied genitive or not genitive at all?
In the field of mathematics there are many concepts named after certain individuals: the Pythagoras's theorem, Galois theory, Hilbert space and so forth. In my native tongue of Finnish the person's ...
0
votes
1answer
34 views
Is it right to write “Since their discovered in 1991, …”?
Which form is correct? Why?
Since their discovered in 1991, ...
Since their discovery in 1991, ...
Since their being discovered in 1991, ...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
Saxon genitive or Of
Why do people use "of" in some phrases, like this one:
•"These are the contacts of my dad"
And not
•"These are my dad's contacts"
I've seen sentences like the first-one so often.
