| 词组 | nouns in combination my father s house |
| 释义 | Contents overview nouns in combination : my father's house124 nouns in combination: my father's house1possessive 's and other determinersA possessive 's structure acts as a determiner (Section 12) in a noun phrase. Compare: a carthis carhis carJack's carA noun cannot normally have an article or other determiner with it as well as a possessive word (143.3). Definite articles are usually dropped when possessives are used.the car that is Jack's = Jack's car (not the Jack's car) or Jack's the carBut a possessive word may of course have its own article.the car that is the boss's = the boss's carWhen we want to use a noun with a/an or this/that, etc as well as a possessive, we usually use the of mine, etc construction (177).She's a cousin of Jack's. (not … a Jack's cousin.)I saw that stupid boyfriend of Angie's yesterday. (not … that Angie's stupid boyfriend …)2meanings of the 's structureWe use the 's structure most often to talk about possessions, relationships and physical characteristics, especially when the first noun refers to a person or animal, or to a country, organisation or other group of living creatures.That's my father's house. (not … the house of my father)Emily's brother is a lawyer. (not The brother of Emily …)I don't like Alice's friends much.Dan's eyes are like yours.There's something wrong with the cat's ear.Scotland's climate is getting warmer.What do you think of the company's management?We also use the structure to talk about things that people, etc produce.I didn't believe the girl's story.Have you read Jack's email?What are Norway's main exports?The government's decision was extremely unwise.With some words for people's actions, we can use either 's or a structure with of.the Queen's arrival or the arrival of the Queenthe committee's second meeting or the second meeting of the committeeAn of-structure is preferred when the 'possessing' expression is very long. Compare:my sister's husbandthe husband of the woman who sent you those papers3's not used: the name of the streetWith nouns which are not the names of people, animals, countries, etc, 's is less common, and a structure with a preposition (usually of) is more normal.the name of the street (not the street's name)the back of the room (not the room's back)the roof of the house (not the house's roof)the top of the page (not the page's top)However, both structures are possible in some expressions.the earth's gravity or the gravity of the earththe plan's importance or the importance of the planthe concerto's final movement or the final movement of the concertothe train's arrival or the arrival of the trainthe world's oldest mountains or the oldest mountains in the world (not … of the world), 206.7Unfortunately, it is not possible to give useful general rules in this area: the choice of structure often depends on the particular expression.4like a subjectNote that the 's structure often corresponds to a sentence in which the first noun is the subject of have or some other verb.Joe's brother (Joe has a brother)the dog's tail (the dog has a tail)America's gold reserves (America has gold reserves)the manager's decision (the manager made a decision)Harris's novel (Harris wrote a novel)In a few cases, the first noun may correspond to the object of a verb.the prisoner's release (they released the prisoner)5measurement of time: a day's journeyThe 's structure (or the plural with s') is often used to say how long things last.a day's journeytwenty minutes' delayNoun + noun structures are also possible in expressions with numbers (125.3).a three-hour journeya twenty-minute delay6other expressions of time: yesterday's newsWe can also use the 's structure to talk about particular moments and events.yesterday's newslast Sunday's matchtomorrow's weather7worthNote the use of the 's structure before worth.a pound's worth of walnutsthree dollars' worth of popcornFor the 's structure in compound nouns (e.g. a doll's house, cow's milk), 126.8possessive without a nounWe can use a possessive without a following noun, if the meaning is clear.'Whose is that?''Daniel's.'We often talk about shops, companies, churches and people's houses in this way. The apostrophe is often dropped in the names of shops and companies.I bought it at Smiths.She got married at St Joseph's.We had a nice time at Jack and Susan's last night.In modern English, expressions like the doctor, the dentist, the hairdresser, the butcher are often used without 's.Alice is at the dentist('s).Previous Next |
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