Questions tagged [possessives]
for questions about words and word forms used to indicate ownership, belonging, or a similar relationship.
45 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Which one out of the two is correct and sounds idiomatic
Me going to a strip club can ruin my social image.
My going to a strip club can ruin my social image.
Well I guess that isn't actually the case. I think using possessive or pronoun actually depends ...
user55625
1
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0
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160
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If "a car of my friend" is incorrect, does this mean that "a car of one of my friends" is incorrect too?
As far as I know:
(1) my friend's car - correct
(2) a car of my friend's - correct
(3) a car of my friend - incorrect
I'm curious about whether the correctness will remain the same if I add "one ...
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1
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1
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160
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“A student /student's misbehaving with his teachers…”
Is there any difference between these two sentences? Which is the appropriate sentence to use?
A student misbehaving with his teachers is so disrespectful.
A student's misbehaving with his teachers ...
- 525
1
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0
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251
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"every your thought" or "every thought of yours" or "every one of your thoughts"?
I always felt that every your thought sounded a bit awkward, but because it seemed to me formal and somewhat literary, I used it more in written texts. Here is one instance of it:
A century and a ...
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...anxieties about us/our having any more downtime
In some cases that a pronoun is a subject which is followed by a verb follows a preposition.
Then the subject is changed into possessive determiners.
But I read a sentence A.
A. On the other there's ...
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1
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0
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29
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Can you omit the noun after the adjective 'own' that follows the genitive of an NP?
a. The opposition party approves of the policy, but the president's own party doesn't.
Can you omit the noun 'party' like this?
b. The opposition party approves of the policy, but the president's ...
- 720
1
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0
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97
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The Difference between "the means of production" vs "means of production"?
Sometimes I see words like I mentioned that use without using article the.
Is there any difference in meaning?
Because as far as I know we should use article the for the possessive form of non-living ...
1
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0
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5k
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How often -if any- are the possessive pronouns "its" or "his" used?
How often -if any- are the possessive-pronouns "its" or "his" used?
Based on many sites and books, the possessive pronouns for 3rd person singular for people or nouns it's "its" (for "it") or "his" ...
- 27.4k
1
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1
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887
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Who have vs. With (What's the difference?)
Someone who has something.
Someone with something.
What is the difference between the two sentences?
Here is the question I got in GMAT:
In 1776 Adam Smith wrote that it is young people who ...
- 21
1
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0
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3k
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“A friend of my brother“ or “A friend of my brother's”?
I got to learn that it's incorrect to say A friend of my brother. The correct clause should be A friend of my brother's but I don't know the reason why it is so.
I found a discussion on a forum on the ...
- 2,431
1
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135
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If I were you I would tell my/your friends to respect my/your boundaries. How to choose the correct possessive pronouns in this structure?
Assuming your sibling telling you that his friends do not respect his boundaries, what would be your answer using the "If I were you..." structure? I see native speakers saying something ...
- 428
1
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1
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2k
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What is the difference between "many of whose" and "many whose"?
I have two examples:
If you do try to discuss these new beliefs with them, many of whose minds are closed to new ideas will fight hard to keep themselves convinced and even try to change your mind ...
- 11
1
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1
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"You not getting admission in MIT would have been so bad" or "Your…"?
Which one is correct?
"You not getting admission in MIT would have been so bad"
"Your not getting admission in MIT would have been so bad"
Similarly:
"he not offering you any help is hard to ...
1
vote
1
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131
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Possesive apostrophe VS "of" when the modifying noun is inanimate. (an art gallery’s ground floor VS the ground floor of an art gallery)
I was writing an essay describing the floor plan of an art gallery a few months ago. When I wrote:
The diagrams compare the layout of an art gallery’s ground floor as it was in 2015 with its current ...
- 4,476
0
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0
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44
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Possessive 's or just noun + noun?
I'm not a native speaker, and I got confused by some grammar point. I see phrases like 'noun + noun' with the first noun being an attributive more and more often. Sometimes in such cases it seems more ...
renyxa
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116
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What's the correct form: "pets island" or '"pet's island"
I'm trying to write a short paragraph about an animal island and I'm a bit confused as to what would be the correct sentence to use for the title.
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31
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Possessive apostrophe correct usage in this example
It is a women's jacket even though the tag size 50 is men's.
Is this correct with the possessive men's ?
I thought mens in this instance, but it isn't a word?
https://english.stackexchange.com/...
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0
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0
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7k
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"two weeks' time" vs "two-week time"
I know that:
(1) in two weeks' time - correct
(2) in two-week time - incorrect
But I don't know what will be without "in".
For example (my own sentences):
(3) Two weeks' time is enough for a ...
- 6,416
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0
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32
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1 a women's stereotype 2 a woman's stereotype 3 women's stereotype 4 a woman stereotype - what's the difference?
1 a women's stereotype
2 a woman's stereotype
3 women's stereotype
4 a woman stereotype
What do they mean?
My take
1 a stereotype which women have about something
2 a stereotype which women have ...
- 4,545
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0
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72
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that brother of Jane who is
a. I am talking about the brother of Jane who is a doctor.
b. I am talking about that brother of Jane who is a doctor.
c. I am talking about the brother of Jane, who is a doctor.
d. I am talking about ...
- 3,435
0
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0
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141
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Customer's request
I know that customer is a countable noun. Can you explain me why in these sentences an author uses different articles:
We can also customize fairways according to customer's request/Site support (...
- 115
0
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0
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70
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My thought about how "the X of Y" can be used. Can you help me check it?
Down below is my thought about how "the X of Y" can be used. Can you help me check if my understanding is grammatically correct? I think this post might help other learners.
The structure &...
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84
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Can I use "box of chocolates" and "chocolate box" interchangeably?
The same with "list of cities" vs "city list", or "list of users" vs "user list", etc.
0
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0
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127
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Classifying genitive
Can we use genitive constructions in sentences like this:
The cat loved Jill with all his cat's heart;
...or should it be "with all his cat heart"?
Thank you!
- 94
0
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0
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40
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Why does the author write "GE division" instead of "GE's division"?
For the sentence below, I don't understand why the author doesn't use the possessive form - he writes "GE division" instead of "GE's division" - GE standing for the company General Electric:
"To ...
- 11
0
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0
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192
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What does “their” refer to in this sentence?
Many Westerners are startled at the images of America and the West in
contemporary Japanese advertising. Their accidental encounter by an
American tourist or businessperson on a visit to Japan ...
- 101
0
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0
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36
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Possessive case: cosmetic issue prevention or cosmetic issues prevention
Which is correct: cosmetic issue prevention or cosmetic issues prevention?
(That is, prevention of cosmetic issues. The context is just a title, something like: Cosmetic Issue Prevention Products.)
- 21
0
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0
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48
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Basic question about plural and possessive
I have multiple tables of different colors.
What is the correct saying if I want to talk about the colors of all the tables ?
The tables' colors.
The table's colors.
The tables colors.
...
- 111
0
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0
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4k
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using possessive apostrophe with country names
Why is it so that it is more correct to say
In India, Independence Day is not on August 14th.
instead of
India's Independence Day is not on August 14th.
?
Is it because the usage of possessive ...
- 4,383
0
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1
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164
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Personal pronoun with a gerund or infinitive?
My father never approved _____ a foreigner.
a. her to marry
b. her marrying
c. she marrying
d. she not marry
Please answer the question with an explanation.
Rokibul Islam Rumee
0
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56
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It's a book of my mother's VS It's my mother's book
Am I right about this:
It's a book of my mother's - it proves she has several books and this one
It's my mother's book - it doesn't prove the other books' existence. It proves only this one's one, ...
- 1,077
0
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0
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33
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The blue one's car is burning AND The blue ones' car is burning
Can we use the possessive "'s" for "one"
-I am seeing a green guy and a blue one.
-The blue one's car is burning
Is it correct?
The same about pluraul:
-I am seeing green guys blue ones.
...
- 1,077
0
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0
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53
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"it fulfills its full business name"
The Client hereby undertakes to comply with the Collection Hub’s Terms and Conditions and for the evidence of this acceptance it fulfills its full business name, name of the acting representative and ...
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0
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0
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37
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When should I use " 's "
If I want to describe a development process of some company called "The Company", should I use "'s" at the end of the company name(The Company)?
What are the cases when I shouldn't use " 's " at the ...
kipibin
0
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1
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476
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It's vs its on social media username context
I'm not a native speaker and just realize there is a difference between "it's" and "its". I still have a little bit confused in some contexts. As an example, on social media ...
0
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1
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43
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God's forgiveness
The genitive 's refers to what belongs to you. I say Jack's car. I mean the car belongs to Jack. I could also say, 'his car' using possessive adjective. My question is about 'God's forgiveness'. It is ...
- 1,561
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1
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91
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I wonder if I can say like this
)) Can I say: " Someone I knew' s mom worked there two years ago." I am trying to say that my acquaintance's mother worked in a place. I replace my acquaintance's by someone I knew's, making the ...
0
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1
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70
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Do I need to repeat 'of the'?
Let us suppose you are a repairman.
Each evening you must check the condition of the fireplace and of the boiler?
- 9
0
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1
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112
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Comparison by 'as'
If I have two questions and both of them can be solved by the same concept then if I want to say that 'the explanation of second sentence is same as first sentence'.
Is it correct, can I say this?
...
0
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2
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91
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Is the word "breaking" in the following sentence correct?
I always carried an extra mask on my belt, in the case of mine
breaking.
I thought maybe it could end in "break". Sorry if it's obvious, I'm not a native speaker.
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-1
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1
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'Advise', 'allow', 'permit', or 'forbid' + possessive + gerund (-ing)
According to Swan's Practical,
In active clauses after these verbs, we use an -ing form if there
is no object, but with an object infinitives are used instead.
Is it grammatical to use a possessive ...
- 1,221
-1
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2
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84
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London Underground/London's Underground/The London Underground
Is it correct to say:
This is Bangkok Metro.
This is London Underground.
This is New York Subway.
(Without "the" and without possessive 's)
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-1
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1
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40
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The usage of possessive s
Normaly we would say James's car but is it also acceptable to say for instance the car of James or it sounds just awkward and no one would say that?
-1
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2
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95
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Articles with possessives
"An hour's work" and "a two weeks' holiday". In "an hour's work" does the indefinite article belong to the noun "work"? As far as I know, "work" is an ...
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-1
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1
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98
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Possessive word order "English's accommodation spending on holiday reached 55% in 2012"
Is this sentence correct to describe a chart? Sometimes I get confused between using x of x versus x's.
I want to say that the British spent 55% on accommodation on weekend holidays in 2022. Does this ...
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