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I'm a bit confused if I can use adjective after a noun with apostrophe s. 

I broke Jim's fragile figure.
I broke fragile figure of Jim.

For example, which of these two sentences is correct?

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Without other context, I would interpret "Jim's fragile figure" to mean a figure owned by Jim, while "the fragile figure of Jim" would be interpreted as "a figure in the likeness of Jim" Both are correct grammatically (with the 'the' of course) it just depends on which meaning you intend. – Jim Sep 8 '12 at 22:25
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Not so much of a question. This construct is used all the time and can be seen often. – Kris Sep 9 '12 at 7:07

closed as general reference by tchrist, Cameron, MετάEd, Kris, Andrew Leach Sep 9 '12 at 10:00

This question is too basic; it can be definitively and permanently answered by a single link to a standard internet reference source designed specifically to find that type of information. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

1 Answer

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Yes, you can use an adjective after a possessive noun. The item that belongs to the noun with the "apostrophe s" needn't be the very next word. For example, I could say that:

My day was worse than Alexander's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

and it would be obvious that the 's at the end of Alexander's referred to day, not to terrible.

So, as Jim said in his comment, there's nothing wrong with:

I broke Jim's fragile figure.

although maybe you should be more careful with his fragile stuff from now on ;^)

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