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Taka Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Of

0 The sentence: 01blockquote
00 The education by the parents of their children is sometimes very difficult. 12blockquote
12br
02br
00Which interpretation is correct? 02br
02br
001: Sometimes it's very difficult for the parents to educate their children. 02br
00(i.e. The education by the parents+the education of their children=sometimes very difficult). 02br
02br
002: The education by the children's parents is sometimes very difficult. 02br
00(i.e The education by (the parents of the children)= sometimes vefy difficult). 02br
02br
00Generally, it is said that the posessive for humans is '***'s noun (e.g. Taka's things)', not 'noun of ***' (e.g. things of Taka). So, grammatically, it seems that #1 is the right one. But I'm still wondering if #2 is also possible. Is it really unacceptable to use 'noun of ***' form for humans? 0-
  

Top answer

0 To Taka, 02br 02br 00Do you see any difference between the two following sentences:- 02br 02br 00i) The education by the parents of their children is sometimes very difficult. 02br 00ii) The educating of children by their parents is sometimes very difficult. 0-

— Temico

  • 0 To Taka, 02br 02br 00Do you see any difference between the two following sentences:- 02br 02br 00i) The education by the parents of their children is sometimes very difficult.
  • 02br 00ii) The educating of children by their parents is sometimes very difficult.
  • 0-
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12 Answers
0
0 To Taka, 02br
02br
00Do you see any difference between the two following sentences:- 02br
02br
00i) The education by the parents of their children is sometimes very difficult. 02br
00ii) The educating of children by their parents is sometimes very difficult. ?? 0-
0
0
0 Taka, 02br
02br
00I'm finding it hard to follow your question. 02br
02br
00Are you seeing this difference in meaning? 02br
02br
00In one the difficulty is the parents, and in the other it is the children who find it difficult? 02br
02br
02br
00I would read that sentence as the parents finding it difficult t
0
0
0 If it's "the parents of their children", like "the legs of a chair", then the education should be done by the children's parents. It "the parents" and "of their children" are separate, then it should be the education of the children which is done by their parents. 02br
02br
00I wonder if the former interpretation is possible or not. 0-
0
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0 MrP? Any comments? 0-
0
0
0 Taka, 02br
00I do agree with Nona, this is not a well-expressed sentence. 05000 No native would say it, there are ways to make yourself clear. Then I don't see why you should dissect a non-probable sentence? I'm sure you can use your skills on more worthy matters. 051010id611id1
0
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0 I know, pieanne. But quite unfortunately, it's from the texbook that I use, and the text is based on the exam that my students have to take. So, I cannot say like 'OK, my students, this sentence is no good and forget it'. 02br
02br
00Well, actually, now my interest is not in the sentence itself. I'm wondering if 'Taka's stuff' really cannot be converted into 'the stuff of T
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0
0 To Taka, 02br
02br
00"The parents of their children" is NOT the same as "the legs of a chair". "The parents of the children" is the same as "the legs of the chair". 02br
02br
00e.g. 02br
00They are the (natural) parents of that couple's (their) adopted children. 02br
02br
00Taka's books = The books of Taka. 02br

0
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0 If "The parents of their children" is the same as "the legs of the chair", then I don't think your "The education of children by their parents is sometimes very difficult" is 01i00 grammatically 02i00 possible, since "the parents" and "their children" are connected to each other. 0-
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0 I've always been taught that you have to use the possessive case when the possessor is a human. 0-
0
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0 Thank you, pieanne. 0-
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