Page 115 - Advanced English Grammar in Use

T h e p o s s e s s i v e f o r m o f n o u n s ( J a n e ' s m o t h e r )

To make the possessive form of nouns in writing, we add 's ('apostrophe s') to singular nouns
and to irregular plurals that don't end in -s:
• Philip's car; the college's administrators; the women's liberation movement
and add ' (an apostrophe) to regular plurals:
• the boys' football boots; the companies' difficulties.
We can use the possessive form of nouns with people or groups of people (e.g. companies),
other living things, places, and times. To make the possessive form of names ending in
-s (pronounced /z/) we can add either ' or 's:
• It's Derek Jones' (or Derek Jones's) new sports car.
Sometimes we add 's to the last word of a noun phrase, which may not be a noun:
• She's the boy on the left's sister.

We can say:
• That old car of Jo's is unsafe, and • A novel of Jim Kerr's has been made into a film.
«When we are talking about relationships between people we can also use a noun without's:
• • An uncle of Mark's, (or An uncle of Mark.)

The noun following a possessive form can be left out when we talk about someone's home or
some shops and services (e.g. the newsagent's, the chemist's, the hairdresser's):
• We're going to Linda's for the evening. (= Linda's home)
• I must go to the butcher's this morning. (= the butcher's shop) (Notice that in cases like this
we can also use the singular without's: I must go to the butcher this morning.)
We also usually leave out the noun when the meaning is clear in cases like:
• 'Whose hat is this?' 'Richard's.' (rather than Richard's hat.)

0 Often we can use the possessive 's or of + noun with very little difference in meaning:
• Ireland's beauty or • the beauty of Ireland
• the company's policy or • the policy of the company
However, sometimes we prefer to use the possessive form or the of form. In general, we are
more likely to use the possessive 's form of a noun:
• when the noun refers to a particular person or group of people:
• Carolyn's illness [rather than the illness of Carolyn)
• the children's coats (rather than the coats of the children)
• when we are talking about time, as in:
• next year's holiday prices (rather than the holiday prices of next year)
a • last night's TV programmes (rather than the TV programmes of last night)
• Notice that we can say: • We had two weeks' holiday in Spain, or We had a two-week holiday.

In general, we are more likely to use the of + noun form:
• with an inanimate noun, i.e. referring to something that is not living:
• the cover of the book (or the book cover) (rather than the book's cover)
• the construction of the office block (rather than the office block's construction)
• when we are talking about a process, or a change over time:
• the establishment of the committee (rather than the committee's establishment)
• the destruction of the forest (rather than the forest's destruction)
• when the noun is a long noun phrase:
• She is the sister of someone I used to go to school with, (rather than She is someone I used to
go to school with's sister.)

Possessive +-ing =