Questions about the possessive, one of several constructions that describe ownership or association between two objects.
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2answers
55 views
Why is the phrase “for the life of me”?
I can’t understand why the phrase “for the life of me” isn’t “for the life of mine.” Mine is a possessive pronoun, not me. You don’t say, “Some friends of me.” You say, “Some friends of mine” OR “Some ...
0
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0answers
38 views
Correct use of “whose” in this context
Which of these would correctly imply individually judging each soul?
"As an Arbiter in the limbo between life and death, you must judge whose soul is worthy of heavenly salvation or eternal damnation....
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0answers
12 views
'Task description' - why isn't possessive used here? [duplicate]
Why is 'task description' form used instead of possessive 'task's description'?
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0answers
26 views
How do you correctly show ownership of “one of the others”?
An similar but different example I know of is:
We put cheese on each other's sandwiches.
This is 's because "each other" is the singular usage. reference
However, what happens when we want to ...
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0answers
45 views
Best way to use two consecutive possessives?
This should be simple, but I'm not sure about the best way to express two consecutive possessive pronouns. I'm translating from formal Portuguese.
A história da família do rei
The history of the ...
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1answer
61 views
Should I use the possessive apostrophe or an attribute noun on a business card?
I have designed some stationary items (such as letterhead and business card) for a website/brand (XYZ.Com for instance), and I need help to choose the correct sentence among those below:
The ...
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3answers
52 views
Is “one” correctly used in that sentence?
I've used this sentence but it just sounds wrong a posteriori:
"The missing data is the weekends' one."
I'm trying to say data is missing only on the weekends.
I know there are more elegant ways ...
-1
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1answer
40 views
Possessive after proper name
The Penguin Guide to Pronunciation says:
"A name ending in S takes only an apostrophe if the possessive form is not pronounced with an extra s. Hence:
Socrates' philosophy, Saint Saens' music
Ulysses'...
1
vote
1answer
59 views
Parking sign apostrophe? [duplicate]
Should there be an apostrophe in the sign "residents parking". A quick Google search suggests there shouldn't. But why not? Is "residents" an adjective?
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0answers
20 views
Genitive case when speaking about things [duplicate]
Can I say 1/2 of the world's countries?
In this case, the world could imply people?
4
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1answer
68 views
Mnemotechnic approach to identifying transitive vs verb-adjective constructs
I'm no linguist, grammarian and not even an english speaker, please bear with me. I'm looking for a quick way to identify transitive vs intransitive constructs, for example, in the sentence
"the ...
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1answer
34 views
Master thesis, master's degree thesis or master degree thesis
I searched online and I understood that "master's degree" retains the apostrophe, while the relative thesis is commonly referred to as "master thesis". However, of the forms
Master thesis
Master's ...
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1answer
26 views
Possessive with acronyms [closed]
Can the possesive formulation apostrophe s be used with acronyms of institutions. For instance: NASA's maps?
Are institutions treated as person names, or differently?
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1answer
140 views
Which one is correct and why? Hand vs hands [duplicate]
Which one is correct and why?
We held each other's hand
Or
We held each other's hands
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1answer
44 views
“Today's news is tomorrow's history” — are those possessives? [duplicate]
In the sentence above, why is "'s" used? Is it considered a possessive? It seems strange to state that the news "belongs" to today or the history "belongs" to tomorrow.
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2answers
37 views
Plural possessives [duplicate]
Which is correct: "Drs. Ha and Smith's comments" or "Drs. Ha's and Smith's comments" (referring to the comments of both drs.)
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1answer
39 views
Which is most appropriate? “Only do this with {management/management's/managemental} approval.”
Which is most appropriate? "Only do this with {management/management's/managemental} approval."
I get that the word "management" can be singular or plural. But, can it also be both possessive and ...
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1answer
27 views
Multiple consecutive possession
What is the correct way of writing 's in multiple consecutive possession?
Bob's dog.
Bob's dog's toy.
Bob's dog's toy's ears.
Is this correct?
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0answers
28 views
why is it acceptable to say “student club”
I always thought there should be a possessive 's after: "student's club"
and I also always thought that student in "student club" is acting like an adjective.
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0answers
78 views
What is the correct way to use the genitive in “Marge's and Homer's personalities are the opposite”? [duplicate]
I was making drills with the genitive case and I made a sentence that I don't understand (ironically):
Marge's and Homer's personalities are the opposite.
I mean, it is supposed that every person ...
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0answers
35 views
Is this a possessive gerund?
In an episode of Top Gear one of the hosts say the following
"Terrible pity about the 350Z Jeremy not liking."
Is the "not liking" bit a possessive gerund?
That is, is the word (liking) a gerund and ...
0
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0answers
18 views
Possessives of implicit nouns
Let's assume that we've got a sentence:
"your language acquisition was similar to your students' language acquisition"
can we make it shorter to:
"your language acquisition was similar to your ...
1
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0answers
44 views
“Synyster Gates/Gates' being left handed” [duplicate]
I texted a friend "I was wrong about Synyster Gates being left handed" earlier this morning, and I realized that I don't know if the word "being" here is something Gates possesses, or if it is a verb. ...
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0answers
10 views
Possessive with nonessential phrase [duplicate]
Here's a puzzler: Is the use here of his wife, Julie's, correct?
Peter Brown, still smarting from his wife, Julie's, infidelity, wants
her dead, and he's trying to convince his friend Bill to ...
1
vote
1answer
54 views
where to put the possessive “s” with an appositive parenthetical
Say I have a gym instructor called Anne and it's her birthday. I want to convey that to someone who doesn't know who Anne is in one sentence.
In speech, I would probably say, "it is Anne, my gym ...
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2answers
263 views
Colleagues or Colleague's? [closed]
Here is the context:
Please enter a colleagues email address:
My coworker believes that in this context, it should be colleagues. I think that because it is a possessive noun, that it should be ...
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0answers
56 views
“A men's washroom” — unusual usage of the indefinite article
An article placed in front of a possessive noun normally refers to that noun. However, every once in a while I come across expressions like "a men's washroom" in which the possessive form of "men" is ...
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0answers
46 views
English grammar Genitive case
Please help me, I am confused.
As you know some times we can 'of' in a noun phrase by reversing the nouns order eg.
a train of goods => a goods train
If I want to mention a definite 'goods train' ...
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0answers
27 views
Usage of “ 's ” in is Franco a friend of Jamie's? [duplicate]
What is the difference between "is Franco a friend of Jamie's?" and "is Franco a friend of Jamie?"?
Are both correct?
What is more appropriate?
1
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1answer
46 views
Is there another way to write the possessive -s?
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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1answer
45 views
When can two pronouns being compared in a sentence be of different types?
I came across a sentence today -
He resents your being more popular than he is
I always thought that while comparing two pronouns they should always be of the same type, like,
She is taller than ...
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0answers
55 views
Do you add `'s` for the possessive of a singular compound noun that ends in a plural noun?
Which of these is correct?
The Union of Concerned Scientists's main goal is to prevent nuclear war.
or
The Union of Concerned Scientists' main goal is to prevent nuclear war.
The noun phrase ...
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2answers
50 views
Determining the stressed word in a sentence when using possessive
In the following sentence, which word should receive the stress:
This is the dog’s collar.
I fully understand that in different contexts, different words will be stressed. But I’m asking about the ...
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1answer
62 views
“A quarter of us is going to lose our jobs” or “A quarter of us is going to lose his job”
During my English lesson, I found this sentence in the book
A quarter of us is going to lose our job.
I think it's wrong but the teachers disagree with me. I think that the subject is "a quarter",
...
1
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1answer
135 views
Drop possessive apostrophe for noun ending in s/double s
Most sources I've found state you should add the possessive apostrophe even to nouns ending in s, as in Thomas's and James's, but does this ring true for nouns such as duchess, countess, and marquess? ...
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1answer
37 views
How to express the price of a unit of output
What are the differences in meaning between:
The output’s unit’s price
The unit output’s price or
Output unit’s price
My intention is to say:
“The price of a unit of output”
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2answers
47 views
If a noun is followed by brackets, where should the apostrophe be placed to show possession?
Which of the following four sentences has used the apostrophe in the correct way?
Captain Jack Sparrow's (Johnny Depp) teeth were glinting in the sunlight.
Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp)'s teeth ...
4
votes
1answer
149 views
Are there nouns that undergo no change when used in the possessive (Saxon genitive)?
I’m looking for the existence of English nouns (common or proper) that
undergo no change when used in their possessive (Saxon genitive) form,
i.e. that do not take the usual ’s appendage the way radio’...
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0answers
90 views
How do you pronounce the possessive form of Las Vegas? [duplicate]
How do you pronounce the possessive form of Las Vegas? Example: Las Vegas' best radio station
Is it correct to put only an apostrophe after the 's' when writing the possessive form of this noun?
1
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1answer
1k views
Which is correct Jess' or Jess's [duplicate]
Please help us solve our debate.
One person says to write "Jess' Bridal Shower", the other says to write "Jess's Bridal Shower".
What is the correct way, or are the both correct?
0
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1answer
56 views
What does “their” refer to in this sentence?
I'm having a hard time with this sentence:
Professional bodies will monitor, and if necessary, discipline members who do not adhere to their ethical principles.
Does 'their' refer to the members ...
4
votes
1answer
74 views
What is the correct way to say “It was this week that Justin and my lives changed forever”?
What is the correct way to indicate "Justin and I" as being possessive of our individual lives in this sentence? Is there a way to do this without restructuring the sentence?
A friend of mine posted ...
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1answer
21 views
Article in “a certain writer's skills” [closed]
Should there be an article in a phrase "a certain writer's skills"?
In phrases like this, is an article a part of a noun or a noun modifier ("writer's" in this case)?
1
vote
1answer
55 views
What is the infinitive form of a possessive adjective?
I want to create flashcards (French <-> English) about idioms like "to put all your eggs in one basket". Those idioms have to be written in the infinitive form but I don't know what do to with ...
0
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1answer
336 views
Possessive apostrophe in “teams' time”?
In this sentence:
Used by companies to manage their teams' time.
Is that the correct possessive usage on teams?
Does it matter if a company has more than one team or not? (I assume it does not.)
...
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0answers
24 views
Is it “Wickham’s and Lydia’s relationship” or “Wickham and Lydia’s relationship”? [duplicate]
Should both names have an apostrophe or just the last?
0
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1answer
43 views
Why it is “Okun's Law” and “Philips Curve” rather than “Okun Law” and “Philips' Curve”? [duplicate]
How exactly do these kinds of compound words work?
"Okun's Law" and "Philips Curve" rather than "Okun Law" and "Philips' Curve"?
Is there any grammar book I can look for?
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0answers
38 views
“My and my sister, Anna Smith's records” or “My and my sister's, Anna Smith, records.” [duplicate]
I'm writing a request letter to my and my sister's high school but I don't how to properly say it.
I, Rebecca Smith, would like to request a copy of my and my sister, Anna Smith's Transcript of ...
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0answers
28 views
Possession with common and proper nouns in same sentence [duplicate]
She was in town for her brother’s, Brett’s, birthday.
or
She was in town for her brother, Brett’s, birthday.
or
She was in town for her brother’s, Brett’s, birthday.
or
?
0
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0answers
14 views
Proper use of possessives that involve a parenthetical (I believe that's correct) [duplicate]
Which is correct:
My friend, John's, dog recently passed away.
OR
My friend's, John, dog recently passed away.
Thank you.
