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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Possessive s' and countries?

What's the difference between ''Britain's defence minister'' and ''the British defence minister'', and why the first statement is more common- at least to very best of my knowledge?

Sincerely,
  

Top answer

In ordinary situations I see no difference in meaning, and I believe they would be used interchangeably. I have a slight stylistic preference for the former. "the British defence minister" could in theory mean that he is British, and is a defence minister, but not a defence minister of Britain.

— GPY

  • In ordinary situations I see no difference in meaning, and I believe they would be used interchangeably.
  • I have a slight stylistic preference for the former.
  • "the British defence minister" could in theory mean that he is British, and is a defence minister, but not a defence minister of Britain.
  • This meaning would only be feasible in an unusual context with strong contextual clues.
  • I don't see any evidence in Google News results that the first is more common.
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3 Answers
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In ordinary situations I see no difference in meaning, and I believe they would be used interchangeably. I have a slight stylistic preference for the former. "the British defence minister" could in theory mean that he is British, and is a defence minister, but not a defence minister of Britain. This meaning would only be feasible in an unusual context with strong contextual clues.

I don't
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AnonymousWhat's the difference between ''Britain's defence minister'' and the British defence minister
Technically, Britain's is a complement. The defence minister is the defence minister of Britain.
On the other hand, British is a modifier. The defence minister (of whatever country) is a British man or woman.
For the sake of sim
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Talk about titles! His title is really, "Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Defence" referred to as the Defence Secretary.
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