Noun Groups

Question

Hi,Sometimes more than one structure can be used in noun groups like the following pairs:the president's arrivalthe arrival of the presidentthe floor of the living roomthe living room floorthe car door handlethe handle on the carWhile there are some other cases in which only one pattern is possible:the back of the car      NOT the car back  OR  the car's backWhy is it like that? Would you please justify the differences?And would you please tell me and rationalize the differences in the following answers?1- Can you buy a bottle of water?      2- It's such a mess in here. There are empty water bottles everywhere.3- Are there any coffee cups in your bedroom? There are none in the kitchen.4-Do you want a cup of coffee?Why is it like that. Please tell me a little about the rules.Thank you in advance,Iman

Mentee · Accepted Answer

Hi imantaghavi,

I conclude that your question is regarding 'forming possessives of nouns'.
The general rule to is to drop the 's' when forming a possessive of an inanimate noun.

You have already provided the appropriate examples...
the living room floor (Is the floor a part of/ belong to the living room? Yes.)
the car handle (Is the floor a part of/ belong to the living room? Yes)

...and some that are are not so appropriate
water bottles (What kind of bottles?)
coffee cups (What kind of cups?)

What would you say if the bottles were filled with wine or tea was served in the coffee cup?
Would you would say water bottles filled with wine or tea served in coffee cups?
My point is that water and coffee act more as noun adjectives instead as 'possessive' nouns.

You can use google.com for 'inanimate noun possessives' or something similar. There are certain exceptions such as 'Earth's rotation'.

The 'general rule' also challenges the 'car's back' example. However, I have also provided another link: http://www.instructionalsolutions.com/blog/bid/61908/Inanimate-Possessives-two-days-time-or-two-days-time.

The other thing to remember is formal/ business/ technical writing is more strict regarding these rules.

Kindly check the following links:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/621/01/
http://www.sti.nasa.gov/sp7084/ch1.html

Imantaghavi · Answer

Thank you Mentee for your time and reply.

Iman

Anonymous · Answer

Hello Mentee

A few comments on your post:

The general rule to is to drop the 's' when forming a possessive of an inanimate noun

It's not a matter of dropping the s, but one of using an entirely different kind of construction often referred to as the "of- construction". The choice of which one to use is largely based on factors of gender and style. The genitive (possessive) case, which is inflectional, tends to be used for personal pronouns and the higher animals (my car, the cat's whiskers where my and cat's are determiners), while inanimate nouns take the of- construction (cf Fred's book with *the book of Fred and *the problem's part with a part of the problem, where the PP of the problem is a complement). The genitive (possessive) is also used with geographical names (China's future) and with many nouns of special relevance to human activity (my life's aim, the body's needs). Note that the of- construction is not called the genitive (possessive) case.

You have already provided the appropriate examples...
the living room floor (Is the floor a part of/ belong to the living room? Yes.)
the car handle (Is the floor a part of/ belong to the living room? Yes)

But these are not inanimate possessives - they have nothing to do with possession. The living room floor is a noun phrase where floor is the head word and living room is a pre-head modifier. Likewise, the car handle is a noun phrase where handle is the head word and car is a pre-head modifier.

...and some that are are not so appropriate
water bottles (What kind of bottles?)
coffee cups (What kind of cups?)
What would you say if the bottles were filled with wine or tea was served in the coffee cup?
Would you would say water bottles filled with wine or tea served in coffee cups?
My point is that water and coffee act more as noun adjectives instead as 'possessive' nouns.

We don't use the expression "noun adjective". Instead of "adjective" we use the word "modifier". Water bottles and coffee cups are both noun phrases where bottles and cups are the head words and the nouns water and coffee are functioning as pre-head modifiers.

Best
J

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