How imporant are possessives "s?

Question

Examples: Car's engine vs car engine. House's doors vs house door.I can see a lot of times "s at the end is skipped, other times, it's used.How important are these possessives in English?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

AnonymousHow important are these possessives in English?

It depends on the person. If you want to speak or write English in such a way that no one knows it's your second language, then they are very important. If you want to do well on English competence tests, they are important. If you just want to be understood as an occasional tourist in an English-speaking country, they aren't very important.
________

For most combinations, you have to use the forms that you see and hear most. There are no absolutely fixed rules about it. Even when there are several correct ways of combining two words (like car and engine), native speakers usually use only one of them, and learners just have to remember which one to use.

If I were you and I had to guess on any given occasion, I'd just put the two words together without any possessive form except when the first word represents a person (kitchen sink, John's books). But that's just guessing. Try to learn the correct expressions if you can.

CJ

How imporant are possessives "s?

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