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Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Correct term for singular possessive as stand-in for a group

0 Dear grammar gurus:02br
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00I am looking for the correct grammatical term (if any) for the type of possessive illustrated by the following examples:02br
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00The chemist's English (title of textbook by Robert W. Schoenfeld)02br
00The young person's guide to the orchestra (Benjamin Britten)02br
00The white man's burden (Rudyard Kipling)02br
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00In these examples, a singular possessive is used, but the singular is actually a stand-in for an entire group or class of people. Is there a specific grammatical term for this type of usage?02br
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00Many thanks in advance!02br
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00Gershom02br
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00comartin AT weizmann DOT ac DOT il02br
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00PS: I am a professor of chemistry, not English, but I was shanghaied into teaching a scientific writing class.0-
  

Top answer

0 I think the grammatical term could be generic noun phrases. When a noun is mentioned as a symbol, example, or representative of 01b 00all02b 00 members of a group (almost the same as 01i 00all02i 00 + plural or noncount nouns or 01i 00any02i 00 + a singular noun) we refer to it as having "generic" reference. 02br 02br 00A few generic countable nouns look like definite nouns (they follow 01i 00the02i 00), even though they do not refer to specific, unique things!

— Maripinky

  • 0 I think the grammatical term could be generic noun phrases.
  • When a noun is mentioned as a symbol, example, or representative of 01b 00all02b 00 members of a group (almost the same as 01i 00all02i 00 + plural or noncount nouns or 01i 00any02i 00 + a singular noun) we refer to it as having "generic" reference.
  • 02br 02br 00A few generic countable nouns look like definite nouns (they follow 01i 00the02i 00), even though they do not refer to specific, unique things!
  • (they are NOT definite) 01ul 01li 00 01i 00The02i 00 and a singular count noun can refer to a whole group (not just one specific member).
  • This occurs often in formal writing, and with inventions, musical instruments, parts of the body.
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2 Answers
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0 I think the grammatical term could be generic noun phrases. When a noun is mentioned as a symbol, example, or representative of 01b00all02b00 members of a group (almost the same as 01i00all02i00 + plural or noncount nouns or 01i00any02i00 + a singular noun) we refer to it as having "generic" reference. 02br
02b
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0 Thanks a lot, this is very helpful.02br
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00Gershom0-
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