I have a question regarding the possessive. Which one of the two is correct?
- Caroline's car
- Caroline her car
Or are they both correct?
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In what sense is #2 considered a possessive? Are you referring to appositives?– LawrenceCommented May 25, 2018 at 11:26
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Perhaps you will get better answers at ell.stackexchange.com ...– GEdgarCommented May 25, 2018 at 11:58
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#1 is correct. #2 sounds not quite wrong to me, but rather odd. Like the literal translation of very colloquial German: Karoline ihr Auto. Not sure that works in English.– Oliver MasonCommented May 25, 2018 at 12:19
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3I've come across this form in Elizabethan music titles {eg My Lord Chamberlain, His Galliard}, but I'm pretty sure it's obsolete.– Edwin AshworthCommented May 25, 2018 at 13:13
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1 Answer
Caroline her car is not idiomatic in the everyday English prose of today. It was idiomatic, to some extent, hundreds of years ago. Today, some folks might say or write it to be quaint or poetic. As a learner, you shoud stick with #1 until you reach the advanced level, and even then you may have no need of #2 unless you have need to write in an outdated style.
answered May 25, 2018 at 17:18
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1Can you cite a source for "Caroline her car" being "idiomatic, to some extent, hundreds of years ago"? I've only ever seen the "Max his car" construction used, with his: I don't think it's safe to assume that her must have been used the same way. Related: Odd possessive form of a proper name: Why does Dryden write “Lord Nonsuch his” instead of “Lord Nonsuch’s” but “Bibber’s” instead of “Bibber his”?, Found in Mary'r Room– herissonCommented Aug 24, 2018 at 11:09