Questions tagged [possessives]
for questions about words and word forms used to indicate ownership, belonging, or a similar relationship.
571
questions
0
votes
1answer
13 views
singular nouns after a plural possessive form
This is perhaps a bit of a strange question, but it's bugging me no end.
I know that it is acceptable to use both a singular and a plural noun after a plural possessive, e.g. "..this influences ...
3
votes
5answers
4k views
Is ‘I want to meet your enemy’ ambiguous?
‘I want to meet your enemy’ can mean?:
You are not an enemy
You are an enemy (like ‘your majesty’ means you are a majesty)
0
votes
2answers
24 views
What is the difference between using these two structures (Noun + noun or ('s + noun) )?
Should I say "a boy's name" or "a boy name"? and if both are correct, then what is the difference?
1
vote
1answer
13 views
Is it “nobody's business but the Turks” or “nobody's business but the Turks'”?
Is it nobody's business but the Turks (it's nobody's business, except that it is the business of the Turks); or is it nobody's business but the Turks' (it's nobody's business, except that it is the ...
12
votes
6answers
3k views
Which possessive should I use when referring to the car of a friend?
Is this sentence correct?
This is John's car, a friend of mine.
Or do I need to say this?
This is John, my friend's car.
0
votes
0answers
28 views
Can I use “box of chocolates” and “chocolate box” interchangeably?
The same with "list of cities" vs "city list", or "list of users" vs "user list", etc.
1
vote
2answers
21 views
Mine and Riley's lives …My and Riley's lives …Riley and my lives?
You have made a difference in mine and Riley's lives ...
or
You have made a difference in my and Riley's lives ...
or
You have made a difference in Riley's and my lives
Not sure what to use here.
0
votes
1answer
49 views
“A car of the family” to mean “one of the family's car”?
Can we use the below expressions to mean "one of...."
(1) A car of the family
to mean one of the family's cars?
(2) A hat of the man
to mean one of the man's hats?
(3) A son of the old ...
1
vote
2answers
25 views
Is “I visited grandparents.” right?
Is "I visited grandparents." right?
I think we say "I visited my grandparents."
However, if I don't use 'my', is it right grammatically?
1
vote
1answer
20 views
Possessive for three-word company name
How do you use the possessive (apostrophe) with a company's name that consists of 3 words? For example,
Barnacle Caribbean Cruises' complaint
Is this correct?
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Is it OK to follow a possessive determiner by the word “such”?
A file whose filename ends with a date-and-time suffix that is separated by @ is a copy that is created to compare it later with the current version of the file and with other such copies of that file ...
0
votes
1answer
60 views
January's schedule vs. January schedule
Is it January's schedule or January schedule?
I also get confused with whether to include an apostrophe before "bill."
This is my January bill or January's bill.
-1
votes
1answer
32 views
What are the rules for using : it's or its?
I am often corrected on StackExchange for writing it's instead of its
Few minutes ago :
I start a game by it's shortcut ==> I start a game by its shortcut
I am (quite) sure that when I was young, I'...
0
votes
2answers
43 views
Which usage is better?: “the beautiful voice of a woman” or “a woman's beautiful voice”
Are both of these sentences grammatically correct?
a. He heard singing from the other room. It was a woman's beautiful voice.
b. He heard singing from the other room. It was the beautiful voice of a ...
0
votes
1answer
20 views
order using the English possessive
I think it is a pretty simple question. I am not sure which sentence sounds better:
Please send me the last two file's pages.
Please send me the file's last two pages
Would a sentence without using ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
Can articles modify adjectives?
I came across a sentence where a modifier seemed to be modifying an possessive adjective. These are not the same sentences but they work similarly (the article's and adjectives I'm wondering about are ...
17
votes
2answers
2k views
Why are there three pronunciations for the plural “-s”?
I know all the pronunciation rules for the plural -s endings. After a voiced sound, it is z, after an unvoiced one it is s, after s, sh, ch it is iz. In phonetic notation, respectively, /z/, /s/, /ɪz/....
0
votes
1answer
25 views
enough lawyers' files
a. If you examine enough of our lawyers' files, you'll get a pretty good idea of how the legal system works.
b. If you examine enough lawyers' files, you'll get a pretty good idea of how the legal ...
0
votes
1answer
20 views
use of 'all' with a possessive adjective
What is the right way to use the determiner 'all' with a possessive adjective e.g. my, your, etc? What is placed first? all or P. Adj?
A. His all habits were unique.
B. All his habits were unique.
Is ...
0
votes
1answer
23 views
Do these mean the same thing?
Do these have the same meaning:
Their perspective about me is...../ of me is.....
The perspective of theirs about me is...../ of me is.....
His book was on the table yesterday.
The book of his was ...
0
votes
1answer
16 views
God's forgiveness
The genitive 's refers to what belongs to you. I say Jack's car. I mean the car belongs to Jack. I could also say, 'his car' using possessive adjective. My question is about 'God's forgiveness'. It is ...
-1
votes
1answer
70 views
How to pronounce “Moderators's”?
If I want to use the plural of "moderator" and also add the apostrophe plus S, how do I pronounce it? How do native speakers pronounce it?
Moderators = moderatorz
Moderators's = ...
0
votes
1answer
40 views
What pronoun should we use here: men are encouraged to be more open with “our” feelings
Here is a paragraph from the Cambridge Dictionary blog:
As men are now being encouraged to talk more and be more open with our feelings, there seems to be a correlation with the rise of the ‘mancom’. ...
6
votes
4answers
797 views
Why do we say AWS service and not service of AWS?
Why do we say in English things like a Facebook post, an AWS service, the Silicon Valley, etc.?
In Portuguese, we would say "A post of Facebook", "a service of AWS", and "the ...
0
votes
1answer
17 views
If I were you I would tell my/your friends to respect my/your boundaries. How to choose the correct possessive pronouns in this structure?
Assuming your sibling telling you that his friends do not respect his boundaries, what would be your answer using the "If I were you..." structure? I see native speakers saying something ...
0
votes
1answer
41 views
Is it allowed to omit apostrophes after `s`?
In this question meaning of the s' explained, but what if I'll say my childrens toys (several kids), i.e. with no ' after s ?
0
votes
2answers
32 views
apostrophe or “of” to show possession
It is stated within my grammar textbook that, "for things, ideas etc., we normally use of to show possession". So for example:
The temperature of the water. (Not the water's temperature)
...
1
vote
3answers
84 views
'Saxon genitives' and 'of genitive'
Consider the following expression.
The book's page
Which of the following rewording express the above mentioned phrase correctly and in which contexts?
A page of the book
The page of the book
Note:...
0
votes
1answer
39 views
How to say “whoever's”?
Please look at the following example:
If someone asks me to not upvote a question (suppose) and I want to tell them in response that "I will upvote whoever's question I want".
How to express ...
0
votes
1answer
117 views
Several years experience or Several years'experience
Several years experience or Several years'experience. Is the possessive apostrophe needed?
0
votes
0answers
12 views
Possessive pronoun
Which is/are correct -
My watch is better than your one.
My watch is better than yours.
My watch is better than that of yours.
0
votes
1answer
48 views
How to use “ 's ” correctly?
Could you tell me if the phrase
The rice's price sharply raised in Brazil
is correct? I have a doubt regarding the 's. Can I use it as I wrote above?
0
votes
1answer
22 views
Should I use 'of' or not? “Plays of Shakespeare” vs “Shakespeare's plays”
When should one use the following one over another?
The plays of Shakespeare will always be classics.
Shakespeare's plays will always be classics.
0
votes
1answer
26 views
Word to combine brother-in-law and sister-in-law?
Imagine the following scenario:
Ronald and Alana are a couple.
Jono and Daisy are a couple.
Jono is Alana's brother.
What would be the correct way to say the following phrase?
We are Ronald and Alana,...
0
votes
0answers
21 views
which sentence is better? using possesive structure or 'of'
A: The increasing air pollution in Singapore is due in part to its neighbouring developing countries’ high dependence on fossil fuels.
B: The increasing air pollution in Singapore is due in part to ...
2
votes
1answer
83 views
How to pronounce “Stannis's”?
I know that the "s" becomes "z" when it comes after a voiced sound. And it is pronounced as "s" when it comes after a voiceless sound. I also know rules about possessives ...
1
vote
2answers
54 views
Are these grammatically correct?
I am trying to learn if i can use possessives in a chain.
Are my sentences correct and if not how can i make them so?
"Father of John's pen is an antique."?
(what i meant: "John's dad ...
0
votes
2answers
29 views
Which use of possessive is correct “I'm grateful for my mother's love” or “I'm grateful for the love of my mother”?
Which use of possessive is correct
"I'm grateful for my mother's love"
or
"I'm grateful for the love of my mother" ?
Or are they both correct, but carry different meaning? I ...
0
votes
2answers
364 views
Is it grasses' or grass's? Help with the possessive
I cannot understand where the apostrophe goes when using the possessive.
Is it grass's or grasses'?
Is it human's or humans'?
Thanks in advance,
0
votes
4answers
34 views
Translations of older or historical professions from German
Should the German term "Bauernvogt", literally meaning "peasants' bailiff" be kept as "Bauernvogt", translated to "peasants' vogt", "vogt of peasantry"...
0
votes
1answer
109 views
Troubles of life vs life's troubles
What's the difference in meaning between the following sentences:
1 Troubles of life can sometimes leave us with a frown.
2 life's troubles can sometimes leave us with a frown.
0
votes
1answer
37 views
Would this be the correct way to refer to two authors' separate books as one book, “Author 1 and Author 2's Books”?
Say I have two authors that each wrote a book (not together) and I want to refer to both of them in one sentence while lumping their books into one noun, should I put an apostrophe right after the ...
0
votes
0answers
67 views
Classifying genitive
Can we use genitive constructions in sentences like this:
The cat loved Jill with all his cat's heart;
...or should it be "with all his cat heart"?
Thank you!
0
votes
1answer
91 views
Connotation meant by “B of A” and “A's B”. What would be the differences?
Do you agree with the interpretation of the following three example sentences?
I don't want to be involved in the problems of my boss.The boss probably deals with some problems. e.g. slow
sales, ...
2
votes
2answers
29 views
Doubts about genitive case
I'm a portuguese speaker who loves English.
I've seen on a website the following affirmation: The content of the website. You can also say, "the website content", or "the website's ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
How can I combine this a couple of statements, using possessive with a gerund?
He plays his MP3 player in the library. I don't appreciate that.
While not being sure, I just guess it should be like below:
I do not appreciate his playing his MP3 player in the library.
1
vote
1answer
31 views
Using 's when saying something 'is'
I've just said to a friend "That cloud's looking very dark". And apparently that's not correct.
He said "it's" is allowed as an abbreviation but "cloud's" is never "...
1
vote
1answer
28 views
Why it is “Task due date” and “Company name” but not “Task's due date” and “Company's name”?
When one should add 's and when not?
Examples:
Task due date / Task's due date
Company name / Company's name
Form field / Form's field
Customer service / Customers' service
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Which is more grammatically correct?
Which is more grammatically correct?
For our country, people and environment.....
or
For our country, our people and our environment.....
Do we need to repeat the word 'our' in front of every ...
0
votes
1answer
44 views
Grammar: sentence structure with possessive
The boy has three coats. His coats are in the closet.
According to the above sentences, is this sentence grammatically correct?
The three boy's coats are in the closet.
I know it is wrong, but I do ...
