Questions tagged [possessives]
Questions about the possessive, one of several constructions that describe ownership or association between two objects.
225
questions
356
votes
22answers
113k views
Is there a correct gender-neutral singular pronoun (“his” vs. “her” vs. “their”)?
Is there a pronoun I can use as a gender-neutral pronoun when referring back to a singular noun phrase?
Each student should save his questions until the end.
Each student should save her ...
63
votes
5answers
29k views
When is a gerund supposed to be preceded by a possessive adjective/determiner?
I assume that the following sentences are grammatically correct:
He resents your being more popular than he is.
Most of the members paid their dues without my asking them.
They objected to the ...
142
votes
6answers
332k views
“My wife and I's seafood collaboration dinner”
I just stumbled upon a Reddit post titled:
My wife and I's seafood collaboration dinner. How does it look?
Sure enough, the top comment immediately points out that it should be "my wife's and my". ...
93
votes
3answers
148k views
What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in “‑s”?
What is the possessive of a noun ending in ‑s? Are these both right, or is the second one wrong?
the boys' books
the boss' car
42
votes
3answers
96k views
Which singular names ending in “s” form possessives with only a bare apostrophe?
Many questions already ask about this topic (What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in "‑s"? , When did it become correct to add an “s” to a singular possessive already ending in “‑...
24
votes
3answers
7k views
“Nikki's and Alice's X” vs. “Nikki and Alice's X”
Which option is grammatical?
There will be readings from Nikki Giovanni’s and Alice Walker’s writings.
There will be readings from Nikki Giovanni and Alice Walker's writings.
Saying it out ...
23
votes
5answers
94k views
User’s Guide vs Users’ Guide
I’ve been looking over what has been posted regarding the use of ’s.
I used to be a Technical Writer (years ago). The title of one of our training documents was Users’ Guide. Once, a coworker said ...
34
votes
10answers
10k views
Why is it usually “friend of his”, but no possessive apostrophe with “friend of Peter”?
As this NGram shows, we nearly always use the possessive form of personal pronouns for friend of mine/his/ours/etc.
But when it comes to actual names, we prefer friend of Peter without the possessive ...
31
votes
5answers
24k views
Is using the possessive 's correct in “the car's antenna”?
I know that to mark possession of an item you can use 's like in the following example:
The user's password shall not be blank.
However, is it correct to use the following:
The car's antenna is ...
2
votes
4answers
3k views
Do you pluralize the singular possessions of individual members of a plural group?
In a situation where you are speaking to a group of men — for example on a sign passed by many married men — which is correct: "Remind your wife" or "Remind your wives"?
40
votes
6answers
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Can one explain the different distributions of the Saxon and the analytic (Norman) (periphrastic, 'of') genitive
I gave a quick answer to part of this question which had not been covered by previous answers, trying to clarify the reason you would say time of decoding but not decoding’s time. I said it was ’s ...
60
votes
7answers
30k views
When did it become correct to add an “s” to a singular possessive already ending in “‑s”?
According to my grammar book, but at variance to the answer to this question, the correct singular possessive if a word ends in ‑s is:
James’s car
The grammar book allows exceptions for historical ...
12
votes
6answers
15k views
What possessive forms are used for mutual 1st person ownership? [duplicate]
I want to talk to someone about the house that my wife and I own. Saying, for example, "My wife's and my house is awesome," sounds a bit funny to me. What's the best way to express this?
...
32
votes
4answers
3k views
Possessive of a word that is already possessive
If the cricket ground Lord's is a possessive, what if you want to describe something belonging to Lord's? Would you say:
I was very impressed by Lord's's customer services.
It doesn't look right, ...
19
votes
6answers
5k views
Is it correct to say “I write children books” (not possessive case)? [closed]
Although Children's books is what everybody says, I would like to understand why the genitive case is applied in such case.
If I write books for children, children is an adjective here; not the ...
119
votes
5answers
166k views
Can “whose” refer to an inanimate object?
We lit a fire whose fuel was old timber wood.
Is the word whose referring to fire, an inanimate object, correct in this sentence? Or is there a more appropriate word?
17
votes
4answers
64k views
What is the pronunciation of the possessive words that already end in s? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When did it become correct to add an ‘s’ to a singular possessive already ending in ‘s’?
Which singular names ending in “s” form possessives with only a bare apostrophe?
My ...
13
votes
3answers
121k views
Should “two weeks vacation” be written “two weeks’ vacation” with a possessive apostrophe?
I’ve always understood that the phrase two weeks usually turns into two weeks’ when used as a modifier as in
I’m giving my two weeks’ notice.
I get two weeks’ vacation. (“two weeks’ holiday” for ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
Attributive or Possessive noun: the Dell Company's staff. or the Dell Company staff? [duplicate]
In the following is it better to use a possessive noun with an apostrophe or an attributive noun without an apostrophe?
The following list details the assumptions that have been made in
...
56
votes
1answer
341k views
Is there an apostrophe in a master's degree?
The question asks it all really. When referring to a master's degree, do you use an apostrophe or not? That is, is it "a master's" or "a masters"?
47
votes
4answers
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Why doesn't “its” have an apostrophe?
I know that its is the possessive and it's is the contraction, and know when to use them. But why doesn't the possessive have an apostrophe?
"The bear's eating a fish." [contraction]
"The bear's ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
Why do we say a “hotel room” and not a “hotel's room”? [closed]
I would like to know what the rule is to explain why we do not use the genitive construction hotel's room. Instead, we say "a hotel room".
Other examples:
a hospital bed
a bike stand
Would it ...
2
votes
3answers
5k views
Possessive Form of a Proper Noun Ending in a Plural Noun Ending in “s”? [duplicate]
I don't think this has yet been covered in any of the other questions on similar topics. There was one other very similar question, however, it was not specifically talking about the case where the ...
22
votes
4answers
41k views
'Which', 'whose' or something else?
I would appreciate your help phrasing the following:
I am looking for elements
which/whose/... size/sizes is/are relatively large.
10
votes
3answers
2k views
A noun adjunct / the possessive case
Sometimes it’s possible to use either a noun adjunct or the possessive case.
the shop door
the shop’s door
However, in certain phrases it’s not OK to do so.
the ship’s crew (the ship crew is ...
4
votes
2answers
25k views
User’s/Users’/Users Group [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“User's guide” vs. “users' guide”
If referring to a Users Group (meaning a group made up of multiple individual users who have some control of ...
19
votes
3answers
17k views
Apostrophe in “beginners guide”
In the phrase beginners guide to …, where should the apostrophe go?
Beginner’s Guide to […]
Beginners’ Guide to […]
In my particular case, this is the title for a presentation so there are multiple ...
5
votes
2answers
145k views
Plural possessive with separate possessions
When we refer to a house that belongs to a family, we say "family's house". Pluralizing family gives us "families". Referring to the houses of several families, we say "families' houses". Forming the ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
“The queen of England's crown” or “The queen's of England crown”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“My wife and I’s seafood collaboration dinner”
What is the correct way of these two sentences?
The queen of England's crown
The queen's of England crown
Strictly ...
30
votes
3answers
7k views
Why is there a distinction between “its” and “it's”?
While I know technically the English language has a distinction because when there's a conflict between the possessive form and a contraction, the contraction wins. That is:
Its is the possessive ...
9
votes
2answers
11k views
Why do we say “of mine/of his” instead of “of me/of him”?
He's a friend of mine.
That's a car of his.
Why do we use the possessive when the meaning would be the same while not using it (e.g. a friend of me and a car of him)? I thought maybe it is short ...
16
votes
1answer
6k views
Is it common for place names to lose their possessive apostrophe?
On a road trip, my wife and I drove by Kings Dominion. We debated whether this should in actuality be King’s Dominion. It seemed that it ought to be possessive, or possibly plural possessive.
Upon ...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
Genitive case or attributive noun
Is there any rule for when it is better to use genitive case or noun as adjective? I'm not sure if there is any difference in meaning in this example:
The department of accounting
The ...
15
votes
2answers
14k views
How to indicate possession by e.g. passers-by, mothers-in-law
I'm quite fond of internal pluralisation, such as passers-by, mothers-in-law, or even Chambers of Commerce.
However, I've recently realised that I've no idea how to indicate possession in such a case....
4
votes
2answers
3k views
Explanation on when the possessive should be used instead of an attributive noun
How would you explain to a person who is learning English, and whose native language does not have attributive nouns, when the possessive should be used instead of an attributive noun?
In particular, ...
17
votes
3answers
12k views
Why “themselves” and “himself”
In the earliest grades of elementary schools, students learn that "hisself" and "theirselves" are not words. I do not understand why this is.
If you wanted to refer to 'his' sock, you would say "his ...
0
votes
2answers
890 views
St. Matthew's vs. St. Matthew
What is the proper spelling: St Matthew's or St. Matthew when not followed by the word "Church".
*
"There will undoubtedly be tradeoffs that I will have to make if I stay
with St. Matthew’s."
*...
9
votes
1answer
3k views
Appositives with possessiveness?
I would like to say something like
The boy, Adam's, favorite toy was a bike.
What is the proper way to say this?
3
votes
2answers
6k views
Possessive form of “one of [a list]”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Plural possessive with separate posessions
Which of the following is more correct? Or is there another form I'm missing?
We drove to the movies in one of my buddy's car.
...
3
votes
0answers
332 views
possessive connecting word for inanimate object [duplicate]
Duplicate of:
Is the word 'whose' referring to an inanimate object correct in this sentence?
Usage of “whose” not referring to a person.
Referring to some attribute of an inanimate ...
17
votes
5answers
96k views
What is the possessive of “you guys”?
Most people seem to stumble over this. The problem can arise with any multi-word phrase that needs a possessive but ends in S, and so sounds awkward using the clitic apostrophe-S. I've heard this ...
5
votes
2answers
63k views
“Me and Joey's” or “mine and Joey's” [duplicate]
Which of the following should I use?
Today is me and Joey's anniversary
Today is mine and Joey's anniversary
14
votes
3answers
92k views
How do you make the possessive form with “He and I”-style subjects? [duplicate]
Despite being a native speaker of American English, I cannot find a construction that sounds natural when trying to form a possessive from coordinated subjects including a first person pronoun, like &...
11
votes
6answers
78k views
“Your and my [something]” vs “Yours and my…”
Prompted by comments against this question, I'd like some help figuring out why some people (myself included) prefer yours over the apparently more logical/grammatically consistent your in this kind ...
13
votes
5answers
8k views
articles with the possessive nouns in the plural
Is there a definite rule about the use of articles with the possessive nouns in the plural?
One rule says that the article in such a phrase modifies the possessive noun. So, it is correct to say "...
20
votes
5answers
92k views
“Its” as a Possessive Pronoun
Since its can be both determiner possessive pronoun and nominal possessive pronoun, an example of its as determiner possessive pronoun would be:
We saved this question for last because of its ...
15
votes
1answer
3k views
Origins of possessive pronouns
If apostrophe + s is the acceptable way of denoting a genitive in English, is it possible that possessive pronouns, such as hers, ours and yours, started life as possessive adjectives with apostrophe +...
26
votes
2answers
53k views
Is the possessive of “one” spelled “ones” or “one's”?
I've been confused about this as long as I can remember. Should it be:
One should do ones duty.
or
One should do one's duty.
I'm guessing it should be the latter. But that doesn't sit well ...
18
votes
1answer
177k views
Yours vs. your's
Which is correct “Is that yours?” or “Is that your’s?”?
I ask because it is possessive, so I would think it would be the latter, but I typically use and see the former usage.
Are there particular ...
2
votes
1answer
898 views
Referring to some attribute of an inanimate object — use “who's”?
This came up in describing an input to a function:
A handle to the daemon who's name is desired.
(Daemon is a type of process on a system.)
Somehow, "who's" just doesn't seem right because it's ...
