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词组 Possession
释义 Possession
This entry explains how to show that something belongs to or is related to something else.

There are six basic ways of doing this:


• using a possessive determiner such as 'my' or 'their' in front of the main noun


• adding apostrophe s ('s) to the end of a noun and putting it in front of the main noun


• using the preposition of after the main noun


• using another preposition after the main noun


• using a noun modifier in front of the main noun


• using an adjective in front of the main noun

An apostrophe ('), not 's, is added to plural nouns ending in 's'. See entry at ↑ 's for more information.

A noun modifier is a noun that is used in front of another noun. It is nearly always singular. See entry at ↑ Noun modifiers.


◊ something belonging to a person

If you want to indicate who something belongs to or is associated with, you can use a possessive determiner. If you are using a short noun group to refer to the person, you add 's to the noun group and put it in front of the main noun. If you are using a long noun group, you put 'of' in front of it and put it after the main noun.
...his car.
...her home.
...Hogan's car.
...a woman's voice.
...Mr Heseltine's views.
...the son of the chairman of Prudential Insurance.
...the dog of the prosperous junk dealer next door.


◊ quality possessed by a person

If you are referring to a quality possessed by a particular person or animal, you use a possessive determiner, 's, or 'of'.
...his bravery.
...the woman's abruptness.
...the zeal and courage of the workers.


◊ quality possessed by a thing

If you are referring to a quality possessed by a particular thing, you use 'of' or a possessive determiner. People sometimes also use 's.
...the efficiency of the teaching processes.
...the speed of the car travelling in front.
...its speed.
...the plane's speed.


◊ something associated with a thing

If you want to indicate that something is associated with an object or with an abstract thing, you use 'of' or a possessive determiner.
...the design of the engine.
...the impact of inflation.
...its impact.

People sometime use 's when indicating association with an object.
...the car's location.


◊ part of a person or animal

If you are referring to part of a person or animal, you use a possessive determiner or 's with a short noun group, and 'of' with a long noun group.
...your leg.
...Laura's leg.
...the bare feet of the young girls.

In the case of an animal, you can also use 'of' with a short noun group beginning with 'a'.
...the wings of a humming-bird.


◊ part of a thing

If you are referring to part of a thing, you generally use 'of'. You always use 'of' with words like 'top', 'middle', and 'end'.
...the top of the hill.
...the leg of the chair.

If you are referring to one of the parts that an object consists of, you can sometimes also use 's or a possessive determiner.
...the car's engine.
...its doors.

If the part is considered to be a type of thing, you use a noun modifier.
...the kitchen floor.
...a car door.


◊ action done by a person or thing

If you are referring to an action done by a particular person or thing, you can use a possessive determiner or 's.
...her death.
...Mr Lawson's resignation.
...the Government's refusal to increase its basic 6.5 per cent pay offer.
...Ricke's acceptance of the job as chief executive.

You can also use 'of' in front of a noun group referring to the person or thing that performs an action. This is done especially when the noun group is a long one.
...the death of a prisoner last December.
...the arrival of powerful processing computers.
...the refusal of certain large grain suppliers to continue supplies until they are paid.

You can also use 'by' when mentioning an action that affects someone or something else.
...the rejection of pay offers of up to 7.8 per cent by union leaders.
...the defeat of James II by William III.


◊ something done to a person

If you are referring to something that is done to a particular person, you use a possessive determiner or 's. You can also use 'of', especially for longer noun groups or when the agent is mentioned too.
...his appointment as managing director.
...Graf's last defeat.
...the murder of his colleague.
...England's defeat of the West Indies.

Similarly, if you are referring to someone who does something to a person, or has a particular attitude towards them, you can use a possessive determiner, 's, or 'of'.
...their supporters.
...the Prime Minister's supporters.
...supporters of Dr Eames.

Note that if you are referring to a type of action or person that affects people of a particular kind, you use a noun modifier.
...staff training.
...child abuse.
...child killers.


◊ something done to a thing

If you are referring to something that is done to a particular thing, you use 'of'.
...his handling of the economy.
...the introduction of new crops.
...the creation of a modern banking system.

However, if you are referring to a person who does something to a particular thing, you can use a possessive determiner, 's, or 'of'.
...its owner.
...the vessel's owner.
...the owner of the house rented by the bombers.

Note that if you are referring to a type of action or person that affects things of a particular kind, you use a noun modifier.
...crime prevention.
...job creation.
...home owners.
...toy manufacturers.

However, you can also sometimes use 'of'.
...the prevention of accidents.
...owners of hotels and guest houses.
...lovers of poetry.


◊ person or thing from a particular place

If you want to indicate what place a particular person or thing comes from or is associated with:


• you add 's to general nouns like 'city' and 'country'
...the country's roads.
...the city's population.
...the world's finest wines.


• you use an adjective indicating a particular country (or occasionally a state or city)
...an Australian film.
...Swiss climbers.
...a strong Glaswegian accent.


• you use the name of a county or town (or occasionally country) as a noun modifier
...a London hotel.
...a London heart specialist.
...a Yorkshire chemist.
...the New Zealand government.


• you use a preposition such as 'in' or 'from'. 'In' is used especially after a superlative has been used.
...the largest department store in the world.
...the best goalkeeper in Britain.
...a hotel in New York.
...students from Britain.


◊ person who controls something

If you want to indicate the country or organization that someone controls, you use 'of'.
...the President of Iceland.
...the head of the Secret Service.

Reporters and broadcasters also use an adjective or noun modifier, or 's.
...the Nicaraguan President.
...the CBI President.
...Lithuania's President.


◊ person or thing of a particular type

If you want to indicate what a type of thing or person is suitable for or connected with, you can use a noun modifier.
...bedroom slippers.
...a milk bottle.
...gas cookers.
...chest wounds.
...car owners.
...man management.

If an appropriate adjective exists, you can use that adjective, especially in formal or technical contexts.
...industrial output.
...a political analyst.
...abdominal wounds.

You may also be able to use an appropriate preposition.
...a degree in Classics.
...a book on Chinese regional cookery.

Note that there are sometimes two ways of referring to something. For example, you can talk about 'a heart attack' (using a noun modifier) or, in formal or medical contexts, 'a cardiac arrest' (using an adjective). You can talk about 'a History degree' (using a noun modifier) or 'a degree in History' (using a preposition).

You use 's to indicate that a type of thing is suitable for or used by a type of person.
...a man's black suit.
...a knight's helmet.

When you are talking about a number of things that are suitable for a particular type of person, you usually make the noun with 's plural. For example, you talk about 'children's shoes', not 'child's shoes'.
...men's hats.

You also make the noun with 's plural when referring to a type of thing that is used by more than one person.
...a men's prison.
...a children's book.

You also use 's when referring to a type of thing that is produced by a type of animal. Note that whether you use a determiner or not depends on the main noun, not the noun with 's. For example, you do not need to use a determiner with an uncount noun such as 'milk'.
...a hen's egg.
...cow's milk.


◊ object made of a particular material

If you want to indicate what something is made of, you usually use a noun modifier. Sometimes there is an adjective you can use.
...a plastic bucket.
...a metal box.
...cotton socks.
...a wooden spoon.

'Of' is used only in literary or old-fashioned writing.
...roofs of iron.


◊ quantity of a substance

If you want to indicate how much of a substance there is, or what shape it is, you use 'of'.
...a bottle of milk.
...a kilo of fruit.
...a drop of blood.
...a block of stone.

See also entries at ↑ Pieces and amounts and ↑ Quantity.


◊ WARNING

When you want to refer to a full container, or to its contents, you must use 'of'. For example, you would buy or eat 'a packet of cereal'. When you want to refer just to a container, especially an empty one, you use a noun modifier, as in 'a cereal packet'.

Occasionally, you can use a noun modifier with words indicating the shape of a quantity of a substance.
...a wax block.
...an ice cube.


◊ person with a particular job

If you want to indicate what job someone does as well as the relationship they have with someone, you can use a noun modifier.
...her soldier husband.
...my geologist friend.

You can also put another noun group after the main noun and a comma.
...his friend, a football player.


◊ something that lasts a particular time

If you want to indicate that something lasts a particular length of time, you use 's in front of uncount nouns and a noun modifier in front of count nouns. Note that the noun modifier is usually hyphenated.
...two years' imprisonment.
...a two-year course.

When you are talking about something that lasts one week, one month, or one year, you can use a noun modifier with 'one'. You can also use 'week-long', 'month-long', or 'year-long', which emphasizes the length of time.
...a one-year contract.
...a year-long experiment.

If you are talking about an amount, you use 's.
...a year's supply of cat food.
...a month's salary.


◊ other uses

Noun modifiers, 's, and 'of' are also used to indicate the age, day, size, or time of something. See entries at ↑ Days and dates, ↑ Measurements, and ↑ Time. See entry at ↑ of for information on other uses of 'of'.
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更新时间：2024/10/30 12:23:12