0
Anonymous Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Use of Apostrophe 's'

0Is it correct to use the apostrophe 's' in the following phrases? Can it always be used for objects, place names instead of people?02br
02br
00- car's boot02br
02br
00- town's people02br
02br
00- London's train02br
02br
00-supermarket's trollies0-
  

Top answer

0No, the 01b 01i 00's02i 02b 00 is almost exclusively reserved for human or near-human possessors. 02br 02br 02i 00 0-

— Mister Micawber

  • 0No, the 01b 01i 00's02i 02b 00 is almost exclusively reserved for human or near-human possessors.
  • 02br 02br 02i 00 0-
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

10 Answers
0
0No, the 01b01i00's02i02b00 is almost exclusively reserved for human or near-human possessors. 01i00Car boot, townspeople, London train02i00, and 01i00supermarket trolleys/trollies02i00-- none of these need to appear in a possessive structure, but if they did, they would most probably be 01i00the boot
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Mister Micawber12cite10No, the 11b11i10's12i12b10 is almost exclusively reserved for human or near-human possessors. 11i10Car boot, townspeople, London train12i10, and 11i10supermarket trolleys/trollies12i10-- none of these need to appear in a po
0
0
*71*0 01p

00You can start Spinnaker.02br
02br
02p

00 0-
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Mister Micawber12cite10No, the 11b11i10's12i12b10 is almost exclusively reserved for human or near-human possessors. 11i10Car boot, townspeople, London train12i10, and 11i10supermarket trolleys/trollies12i10-- none of these need to appear in a po
0
0
0 Sometimes it's a matter of style preference.02br
00 I don't sense an appreciable difference between London trains and London's trains.02br
02br
00 On the other hand:02br
02br
00the table leg / the leg of the table 05002br
00the table's leg 05102br
02br
00 CJ010id111id36
0
0
0I think it's okay to use "table's leg" when you want to refer to 01i00that particular02i00 table.02br
02br
00Say you are at the furniture store. I say "Let's take this one." You say "Well, this table's leg is scratched. Maybe we can get a discount if we take the floor sample. Otherwise, we'll get one from stock."0-
0
0
*71*0 01blockquote
01cite10Mister Micawber12cite10You can start Spinnaker.12br
12br
12blockquote
10Thank you Micawber! Very good website.00 0-
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10CalifJim12cite12br
10the table leg / the leg of the table 15012br
10the table's leg 15112br
12br
12blockquote
10LOL, I didn't choose that example at random, I once read it somewhere. I did a little search here, and find out it was GG who said that! Well, she also repl
0
0
0Was I consistent? I think it's used for inanimate objects when you want to say that it is that specific object, not that general class of objects. Did I say that in the other post too?0-
0
0
0 Hee, hee, hee!02br
02br
00They may be grammatical, but I find them so strange that I don't think I could use more than one or two every year.02br
02br
00 Just reciting a list of possibilities can be amusing:02br
02br
01i00the book's cover, the rake's handle, the computer's screen, the refrigerator's door, the door's ****, the
0

Related Questions