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MUSCOVITE Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
can't understand this piece of grammar
Hi,
According to Michael Swan's Practical English Usage (Second Edition, entry 432), the sentence He works as a Queen's Messenger is fine.
Could somebody please explain in plain English why, on one hand, both He works as a Queen's Messenger
and He works as a Messenger of the Queen's
are okay whereas only She is a cousin of John's is OK
(the formal constructShe is a John's cousin is obviously incorrect grammar)
Hope my question makes sense...
Thank you!
mus-te
According to Michael Swan's Practical English Usage (Second Edition, entry 432), the sentence He works as a Queen's Messenger is fine.
Could somebody please explain in plain English why, on one hand, both He works as a Queen's Messenger
and He works as a Messenger of the Queen's
are okay whereas only She is a cousin of John's is OK
(the formal construct
Hope my question makes sense...
Thank you!
mus-te
Top answer
Queen, unlike John, is a common noun and this is what makes the difference between those two grammar structures. The fact that you can place the before Queen should be enough to convince you that this is indeed so.
- Queen, unlike John, is a common noun and this is what makes the difference between those two grammar structures.
- The fact that you can place the before Queen should be enough to convince you that this is indeed so.
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2 Answers
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Queen, unlike John, is a common noun and this is what makes the difference between those two grammar structures. The fact that you can place the before Queen should be enough to convince you that this is indeed so.
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