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Rommel Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

How could I possibly avoid confusion as to the use of the “double possessive” and of the “single possessive”?

Please correct me if I’m wrong with my understanding of the following statements:

• This is a criticism of my girlfriend’s. (My personal interpretation: This criticism comes from my girlfriend.)
• This is a criticism of my girlfriend. (My personal interpretation: This criticism is aimed at my girlfriend.)

• That is a painting of my girlfriend’s. (My personal interpretation: That is one of my girlfriend’s paintings or That painting belongs to my girlfriend.)
• This is a painting of my girlfriend. (My personal interpretation: This painting shows my girlfriend or My girlfriend is shown in the painting.)

• Those are pictures of hers and mine. (My personal interpretation: Those pictures belong to her and me.)
• Those are pictures of her and me. (My personal interpretation: Those pictures show her and me or She and I are shown in those pictures.)
  

Top answer

Rommel Please correct me if I’m wrong with my understanding I see no misunderstanding. Therefore, I have nothing to correct. CJ

— CalifJim

  • Rommel Please correct me if I’m wrong with my understanding I see no misunderstanding.
  • Therefore, I have nothing to correct.
  • CJ
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6 Answers
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RommelPlease correct me if I’m wrong with my understanding
I see no misunderstanding. Therefore, I have nothing to correct.
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Sir CJ, I just wonder why natives have to use double negatives (which often cause confusion on the part of non-natives) despite the fact that they can merely state, "__ belong/s to __"?
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Rommelwhy natives have to use double negatives
Emotion: tongue tied I don't see any double negatives in the
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The double negatives I'm talking about are those found in the sample sentences given before. Imagine: The "of" phrase is used, and so is apostrophe (') after the object of the preposition "of."• This is a criticism of my girlfriend’s. • That is a painting of my girlfriend’s.
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Rommelnegatives
Negatives are words like "not", "don't", "can't", "never", "nothing", and "neither". That has nothing to do with the double genitive constructions we are discussing here (both "of" and an apostrophe). It's "genitive", not "negative".
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Ha, ha, ha! Emotion: giggle Uh, Okay, Sir CalifJim. Ha, ha, ha!
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