0
Goodenglish5 Posted 7 years ago
Grammar

Genitive with things

Which of the following would be / would sound more natural in regular speech?

1. The fountain's water

2. The water of the fountain

Thanks

  

Top answer

goodenglish5 Which of the following would be / would sound more natural in regular speech? 1. The fountain's water 2.

— Blue Jay

  • goodenglish5 Which of the following would be / would sound more natural in regular speech?
  • 1.
  • The fountain's water 2.
  • The water of the fountain Thanks #2 sounds better.
  • The 's form is typically used when talking about something that belongs to a person or animal, while the of form is typically used when talking about something that belongs to something non-living.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

3 Answers
0
goodenglish5

Which of the following would be / would sound more natural in regular speech?

1. The fountain's water

2. The water of the fountain

Thanks

#2 sounds better. The 's form is typically used when talking about something that belongs to a person or animal, while the of form is typically used when ta

0
0

For more information on this topic see

CJ

0
0

In the particular case of a fountain, you'd typically not use the pure genitive, because if you're talking about water and a fountain, it goes without saying that the water is the fountain's. You'd more likely hear: Water from the fountain. For example:


He drank water from the fountain.

Water from the fountain splashed all over him.

0

Related Questions