This post has been inspired by my friend who questioned the apostrophe in sunglasses’ fans. And who could blame him? Britain’s schools teach their pupils that such apostrophes indicate possession, so he, not at all unreasonably, asked whether the fans actually belonged to the sunglasses, which, of course, they didn’t. This, however, does not make this apostrophe incorrect. And this is why.
English nouns have two cases: the common case (boy/boys) and the genitive case (of the boy = boy’s and of the boys = boys’). The common case is the base form – the one we see in a dictionary: apple(s), compassion, grammar, house(s), London, Manhattan, police, Tuesday(s), war(s). The genitive case is more nuanced because it conveys a range of meanings.
Admittedly, one of the functions of the genitive case is to indicate possession – but it’s far from the only one. But, because of the indoctrination – albeit unwitting – by British schools, some people use the terms genitive and possessive interchangeably; others seem unaware of the former altogether. However, equating the genitive case with possession is an oversimplification because, as I’ve mentioned, the genitive conveys also other meanings. Those meanings are listed below.
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Possessive genitive: John’s book (the book belongs to John)
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Subjective genitive: John’s application (John made an application = the application was made by John)
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Objective genitive: John’s release (John was released = they released John)
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Genitive of origin: John’s story (John told a story)
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Descriptive genitive: a boys’ school (a school for boys)
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Genitive of measure: ten days’ leave (the leave lasted ten days)
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Genitive of attribute: John’s courage (John is/was courageous)
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Partitive genitive: the house’s roof (the roof is a part of a/the house)
As for the noun classes with which the genitive frequently appears, they are as follows:
- Personal names: the Robinsons’ family house, Obama’s reforms
- Personal nouns: the twins’ older brother, my mother’s cooking
- Animal nouns: the cat’s tail, this dog’s collar
- Collective nouns: the nation’s resources, the committee’s decision
The genitive is further used with certain kinds of inanimate nouns:
- Geographical names: Africa’s future, China’s growth, California’s climate, London’s inhabitants, Harvard’s alumni
- Locative nouns (for regions, institutions, heavenly bodies, etc.; some can be similar to geographical names): the world’s population, the hotel’s entrance, the club’s pianist, the church’s mission, the school’s history
- Temporal nouns: a day’s work, yesterday’s news, this year’s sales
- Other nouns relevant to human activity: mind’s eye, my life’s goal, love’s young dream, the novel’s structure, the play’s philosophy, science’s influence, the treaty’s ratification
So that’s the genitive case in a nutshell. Needless to say, this exposition is going straight into my book on grammar, which, I hope, will dispel many myths surrounding the subject.
Oh, this is an important one, Anna. I especially appreciate you pointing out the genitive of measure because I see NO ONE getting that one at all anymore!
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Thank you, Torrie. I’m trying to alternate the frivolous with the serious. And I am absolutely loving writing my book. Let’s hope it will appeal to readers.
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I’m sure it will, Anna. As hard as it may be to believe, there are just tons of people out there like you (and me) that are kind of sick of seeing the English language being butchered down to an unrecognizable state. 🙂
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Anna, thank you so much for this. You’ve made it absolutely clear. I’m very interested in your book. My students are encouraged to buy the Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation by Jane Strauss, as the college feels that it is the best book for the purpose (despite its focus on American English), as they have not yet found what they feel is a suitable British English equivalent. When do you think you will be publishing yours?
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Thank you so much, Jennie; your encouragement means a lot. I am going full steam ahead and hope to publish in the autumn – by Christmas at the latest. That said, I’m determined not to cut any corners and to make it the best and most helpful work I possibly can. Thanks again!
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Good explanation. The temporal nouns would probably get me in trouble. I have thought of one part of it is if a noun already is plural ending in s like boys, then the apostrophe goes after the s and no additional s is added. County’s and countries’, would that be correct?
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Thank you, Deborah; you are absolutely right – as always!
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