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Sb70012 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Invisible [possessives]
Hello again,
What if we talk about the double genitive of something invisible?
I mean for example: [his thought, opinion, need, feeling ...etc] as you know these are not objects. Then I don't know how they are used in possessives.
1. the opinions of his father. = incorrect
2. the opinions of his father's. = correct
3. the feelings of his father. = incorrect
4. the feelings of his father's. = correct
5. the heart of his father. = incorrect
6. the heart of his father's. = correct
7. the learning needs of our students. incorrect
8. the learning needs of our students'. correct
Am I right? I don't know if [father's] is correct or [father] when we talk about something invisible.
Have I marked them correctly?
Thank you
What if we talk about the double genitive of something invisible?
I mean for example: [his thought, opinion, need, feeling ...etc] as you know these are not objects. Then I don't know how they are used in possessives.
1. the opinions of his father. = incorrect
2. the opinions of his father's. = correct
3. the feelings of his father. = incorrect
4. the feelings of his father's. = correct
5. the heart of his father. = incorrect
6. the heart of his father's. = correct
7. the learning needs of our students. incorrect
8. the learning needs of our students'. correct
Am I right? I don't know if [father's] is correct or [father] when we talk about something invisible.
Have I marked them correctly?
Thank you
Top answer
I would say almost the exact opposite. These are all OK: 1. the opinions of his father 3.
- I would say almost the exact opposite.
- These are all OK: 1.
- the opinions of his father 3.
- the feelings of his father 7.
- the learning needs of our students Of course, you can also write "his father's opinions" etc.
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3 Answers
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I would say almost the exact opposite. These are all OK:
1. the opinions of his father
3. the feelings of his father
7. the learning needs of our students
Of course, you can also write "his father's opinions" etc.
In fact, (1) is ambiguous and could mean either the opinions held by his father or other people's opinions about his father. Only context will tell wh
1. the opinions of his father
3. the feelings of his father
7. the learning needs of our students
Of course, you can also write "his father's opinions" etc.
In fact, (1) is ambiguous and could mean either the opinions held by his father or other people's opinions about his father. Only context will tell wh
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I agree with GPY, the it much more common and natural to say them in the form "father's opinions", "the students' learning needs" etc.
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