Timeline for Is using the possessive apostrophe correct in "the car's antenna"?
Current License: CC BY-SA 2.5
6 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Sep 8, 2023 at 18:29 | comment | added | John Lawler | I think any construction using to "definitely does signify the dative, at least in spirit, especially from a historical perspective." And any construction using from does the same job on the ablative case. Of course those were I-E cases; one could also find examples for just about any other construction or punctuation, since the definition is so broad. English has case left only on a few personal pronouns, and there it's disappearing fast, like number and gender. | |
| Aug 17, 2010 at 16:05 | comment | added | Colin Fine | @Neil: "Town hall" is a common phrase in the UK too, and elsewhere. But the example was "The town's hall" which is entirely different from "town hall", and, I maintain, would not be said by a native speaker unless there were only one hall (not just one Town Hall") in town. "The town's town hall", on the other hand, is perfectly acceptable (though perhaps a little unlikely to be said). | |
| Aug 17, 2010 at 16:01 | comment | added | Colin Fine | @itrekkie: Historically, yes it was a genitive. It does still indicate possession (or association). But referring to it as "genitive case" in my view is unhelpful, and sometimes misleading. Is "girl" in the genitive in "the girl next door's coat"? | |
| Aug 16, 2010 at 16:31 | comment | added | Charlie | I take issue here—case is very important in English, and does still surface in many cases. The 's definitely does signify the genitive, at least in spirit, especially from a historical perspective. | |
| Aug 16, 2010 at 15:15 | comment | added | Goodbye Stack Exchange | "The town's hall" implies "town hall", a common phrase in the US, and there would indeed be only one. | |
| Aug 16, 2010 at 13:08 | history | answered | Colin Fine | CC BY-SA 2.5 |