Advanced English Grammar

2021-04-20 22:14:06 #Tip 93.

Possession may be denoted by a phrase with 'of' as well as by the possessive case. The distinction between the two forms cannot be brought under rigid rules, but the following suggestions will be of use.

I. In older English and in poetry the possessive case of nouns is freely used, but in modern prose it is rare unless the possessor is a living being. A phrase with 'of' is used instead.

- The mayor of Detroit (NOT Detroit’s mayor).

- The top of the post (NOT the post’s top).

- The prevalence of the epidemic (NOT the epidemic’s prevalence).


Contrast the poetic use:

Belgium’s capital had gathered then
Her beauty and her chivalry.—BYRON.

Other prepositions are sometimes used: as,—“the explosion in New York” (NOT “New York’s explosion”), “the station at Plymouth.”



II. When the possessor is a living being, good usage varies.

1. If there is actual ownership or possession of some material thing, the possessive case is generally used in the singular: as,—“John’s hat” (not “the hat of John”). The possessive plural, however, is often replaced by a phrase with of, to avoid ambiguity or harshness: as,—“the jewels of the ladies” (rather than “the ladies’ jewels”)17, “the wings of the geese” (rather than “the geese’s wings”).


2. With nouns denoting a quality, an act, or the like, either the possessive or the of-phrase is proper: as,—“John’s generosity,” or “the generosity of John”; “John’s condition,” or “the condition of John”; “the guide’s efforts,” or “the efforts of the guide”; “Cæsar’s death,” or “the death of Cæsar.”

When there is any choice, it usually depends on euphony (that is, agreeable sound), and is therefore a question of style. Sometimes, however, there is a distinction in sense. “John’s fear,” for example, indicates that John is afraid; but “the fear of John” means the fear which John inspires in others.

III. The following phrases are established idioms with the possessive. In some of them, however, the possessive may be replaced by 'of' and its object.

(1) The earth’s surface, the sun’s rays, the moon’s reflection, the pit’s mouth, a rope’s end, his journey’s end, at his wit’s end, the ship’s keel, the water’s edge, the cannon’s mouth, out of harm’s way, at swords’ points, for pity’s sake, for conscience’ sake;
(2) a moment’s pause, a year’s time, a hand’s breadth, a boat’s length, a month’s salary, a week’s notice, a night’s rest, a day’s work, a stone’s throw, a feather’s weight, an hour’s delay, a dollar’s worth, not a foot’s difference.

In the second group of phrases (“a moment’s pause,” etc.), the possessive denotes not ownership, but measure or extent.

IV. The possessive case of certain pronouns (my, our, your, his, her, its, their) is more freely used than that of nouns in expressions that do not denote actual ownership.

I know him to my sorrow. [Compare: to his loss, to our detriment, to his advantage.]
The brass has lost its polish.
This question must be decided on its merits.
His arguments did not fail of their effect.

For the inflection of these pronouns, see § 115. For the use of whose, see § 152.



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2021-04-20 21:55:31 Use of the Possessive Case Open / Comment

2021-04-04 08:36:20 #Tip 92.

Possessive Singular of Nouns ending in s.

1. Monosyllabic nouns ending in s or an s-sound usually make their possessive singular by adding ’s.

Examples: Charles’s hat, Forbes’s garden, Mr. Wells’s daughter, Rice’s carriage, Mrs. Dix’s family, a fox’s brush.

Note. Most of these monosyllabic nouns in s are family names. The rule accords with the best usage; but it is not absolute, for usage varies. Hence forms like Charles’ and Wells’ cannot be condemned as positively wrong, though Charles’s and Wells’s are preferable. In speaking, the shorter form is often ambiguous, for there is no difference in sound between Dix’ and Dick’s, Mr. Hills’ and Mr. Hill’s, Dr. Childs’ and Dr. Child’s.



2. Nouns of two or more syllables ending in s or an s-sound, and not accented on the last syllable, may make their possessive singular by adding ’s, or may take no ending in the possessive.

In the latter case, an apostrophe is added in writing, but in sound there is no difference between the possessive and the nominative.

Examples: Burrows’s (or Burrows’) Hotel, Æneas’s (or Æneas’) voyage, Beatrice’s (or Beatrice’) gratitude, Felix’s (or Felix’) arrival, for conscience’s (or conscience’) sake.

Most of the nouns in question are proper names. In speaking, one must often use the longer form to prevent ambiguity; for Williams’ and William’s, Roberts’ and Robert’s, Robbins’ and Robin’s, are indistinguishable in sound.

Note. Nouns of two or more syllables ending in s or an s-sound and accented on the last syllable, follow the rule for monosyllables. Thus,—Laplace’s mathematics (not Laplace’); Alphonse’s father (not Alphonse’).

When final s is silent (as in many French names), ’s must of course be added in the possessive. Thus,—Descartes’s philosophy (pronounced Daycárt’s).


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2021-03-23 08:07:08 #Tip 91.

Nouns like sheep and deer, which have the same form in both the singular and the plural, usually take ’s in the possessive plural.

Thus, the deer’s tracks would be written, whether one deer or more were meant.


https://t.me/Advanced_English_Grammar Open / Comment

2021-03-10 10:36:49 #Tip 90.

The possessive case of most nouns has, in the singular number, the ending ’s.

Examples: the owl’s feathers, Elizabeth’s hat, the officer’s name.


Plural nouns ending in s take no further ending for the possessive. In writing, however, an apostrophe is put after the s to indicate the possessive case.

Examples: the owls’ feathers, the officers’ names, the artists’ petition, the engineers’ ball.


Plural nouns not ending in s take ’s in the possessive.

Examples: the firemen’s ball, the policemen’s quarters, the children’s hour.


Note. In older English the possessive of most nouns was written as well as pronounced with the ending -es or -is. Thus, in Chaucer, the possessive of child is childës or childis; that of king is kingës or kingis; that of John is Johnës or Johnis. The use of an apostrophe in the possessive is a comparatively modern device, due to a misunderstanding.
Scholars at one time thought the s of the possessive a fragment of the pronoun his; that is, they took such a phrase as George’s book for a contraction of George his book.

Hence they used the apostrophe before s to signify the supposed omission of part of the word his. Similarly, in the possessive plural, there was thought to be an omission of a final es; that is, such a phrase as the horses’ heads was thought to be a contraction of the horseses heads. Both these errors have long been exploded.

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2021-03-10 10:30:59 Forms of the Possessive Case Open / Comment

2021-02-22 22:28:44 #Tip 89.

The possessive case denotes ownership or possession.

- John’s yacht lies at her moorings.
- The duck’s feet are webbed.
- The mutineer’s pistol burst when he fired.

NOTE. Most uses of the possessive come under the general head of possession in some sense. Special varieties of meaning are source (as in “hen’s eggs”) and authorship (as in “Wordsworth’s sonnets”).

A possessive noun or pronoun modifies the substantive to which it is attached as an adjective might do. Hence it is classed as an adjective modifier.

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2021-01-28 01:02:00 #Tip 88.


The nominative case is used in the following constructions:

(1) the subject,
(2) the predicate nominative,
(3) the vocative, (or nominative of direct address),
(4) the exclamatory nominative,
(5) appositive with a nominative,
(6) the nominative absolute.



1. The subject of a verb is in the nominative case.

- Water freezes.
- Charles climbed the mountain.
- The boy’s face glowed with health and exercise.
- A thousand men were killed in this battle.

In the third example, face is the simple subject; the complete subject is the boy’s face.

In the fourth, men is the simple subject; the complete subject is a thousand men.

Both face and men are in the nominative case; face is in the singular number; men in the plural.



2. A substantive standing in the predicate, but describing or defining the subject, agrees with the subject in case and is called a predicate nominative.

A predicate nominative is also called a subject complement or an attribute.

- Lobsters are crustaceans.
- A good book is a faithful friend.
- Shakspere was a native of Stratford-on-Avon.
- Arnold proved a traitor.
- Adams was elected president.

The rule for the case of the predicate nominative is particularly important with respect to pronouns.

- I am he.
- Are you she?
- It is I.
- It was we who did it.

The predicate nominative is commonest after the copula is (in its various forms). It will be further studied in connection with intransitive and passive verbs.



3. A substantive used for the purpose of addressing a person directly, and not connected with any verb, is called a vocative.

A vocative is in the nominative case, and is often called a nominative by direct address or a vocative nominative.

- Come, Ruth, give me your hand.
- Turn to the right, madam.
- Herbert, it is your turn.
- Come with me, my child.

Note. A vocative word is sometimes said to be independent by direct address, because it stands by itself, unconnected with any verb. That a vocative is really in the nominative case may be seen in the use of the pronoun thou in this construction: as,—I will arrest thee, thou traitor.



4. A substantive used as an exclamation is called an exclamatory nominative (or nominative of exclamation).

- Peace, be still.
- Fortunate Ruth!
- A drum! a drum! Macbeth doth come.
- Look! a balloon!
- The sun! then we shall have a fine day.

Certain exclamatory nominatives are sometimes classed as interjections.



5. A substantive added to another substantive to explain it and signifying the same person or thing, is called an appositive and is said to be in apposition.

An appositive is in the same case as the substantive which it limits.

Hence a substantive in apposition with a nominative is in the nominative case.

- Mr. Scott, the grocer, is here. [Apposition with subject.]
- Tom, old fellow, I am glad to see you. [Apposition with vocative.]
- The discoverer of the Pacific was Balboa, a Spaniard. [Apposition with predicate nominative.]


NOTE. Apposition means “attachment”; appositive means “attached noun or pronoun.” An appositive modifies the noun with which it is in apposition much as an adjective might do (compare “Balboa, a Spaniard” with “Spanish Balboa”). Hence it is classed as an adjective modifier.


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2021-01-24 12:08:07 Open / Comment

2021-01-24 12:03:45 Declension of Nouns

#Tip 87. The inflection of a substantive is called its declension. To decline a noun is to give its case-forms in order, first in the singular number and then in the plural. Thus,— Open / Comment