In the sentence, 'NCA offers a tool to measure a country's or region's natural capital', are one or both of country and region possessive (country's or region's vs. country or region's)? Ownership is a bit ambiguous because of the inclusive 'or'.
-
is this your own sentence? It would sound better if it were rephrased: NCA offers a tool that measures the natural capitals of countries and regions.– Jason BassfordOct 26, 2018 at 17:30
-
I had an answer, but it was downvoted with no reason given. So now there is no answer.– Trevor Christopher ButcherOct 29, 2018 at 14:56
-
Possible duplicate of Preferred way to apostrophise in case of dual or multiple ownership by distinct entities– eenbeetjeOct 31, 2018 at 20:35
-
Possible duplicate of "Nikki's and Alice's X" vs. "Nikki and Alice's X"– SkoobaNov 1, 2018 at 15:55
-
Not a duplicate, unless somebody can identify an answer that addresses the case of something belonging to or associated with one of two (or more) entities; viz., X or Y.– Scott - Слава УкраїніNov 4, 2018 at 2:17
|
Show 1 more comment
1 Answer
The correct sentence is "NCA offers a tool to measure a country or region's natural capital," as this situation is analogous to the question in this post.
-
The linked post is irrelevant because it talks about “X and Y”, and this question is about “X or Y”. Nov 4, 2018 at 2:17
-
I don't know that it is entirely irrelevant though. I think the same basic structure applies with any possessive nouns linked by a conjunction. Nov 5, 2018 at 15:32
-
1
-
Oh, sorry, I did not. My brain is not functioning at the highest of levels this morning. Nov 5, 2018 at 16:17