Using apostrophe or "of" to show possessive

Question

I might be thinking too much about this, and missing the glaringly obvious, but.... Is there any kind of rule for 'of' possessives? For example, one might say 'the school's toilets are very dirty', but probably not 'the toilets of the school'. However, nobody, I think, would say 'the mouth's roof', but rather 'the roof of the mouth'.

It's difficult to search for on the net, and I can't find anything sufficient.

Is there a rule, or is it merely instinctual? Am I missing something?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Hello, newbie - and welcome to English Forums.

The rule is simple: for humans and human-like entities (like a pet dog or an institution or organization) , we use 's (the Anglo-Saxon genitive). For everything else we use 'of' genitive.

However, there are many exceptions made, especially in spoken English.

CalifJim · Answer

eslnewbieIs there any kind of rule for 'of' possessives?

No. There are only a few observations that can be called rules. For example, the car of you is ungrammatical; you have to use your car. The remaining observations are mostly just that - observations. These amount to guidelines rather than rules.

See Huddleston's Introduction to the Grammar of English, Section 6.13, pp. 268-271.

There three principles are mentioned by which speakers usually choose between the Possessive Phrase (PossP) ('s form) and the of construction. [Note: X is the 'superordinate term' and Y is the 'subordinate term' in Y's X or in (the /a) X of Y.] These are:

1. The complexity of the subordinate term.

2. Humanness and animacy of the subordinate term.

3. The nature of the relationship between the superordinate and the subordinate term.

For example, in the "appositive genitive" only the of construction is possible: the city of Rome, not Rome's city.

Also note that since letters cannot write, it's the writing of letters, not the letters' writing.

You can read the pages referenced above here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=irXAKZSHc38C&pg=PR2&lpg=PR2&dq=huddleston+introduction+to+the+grammar+of+english&source=bl&ots=7vFeehmQlF&sig=JvXDlVg2IHx-tVYQAeO8NhAIJUA&hl=en&ei=aNHMTf3NGovSsAOOq8GwCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CD4Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=relationship%20PossP&f=false

Click on Page 268 to open the relevant section.

CJ

Eslnewbie · Answer

Thanks, Mister Micawber and CalifJim, for the two thorough answers.

Using apostrophe or "of" to show possessive

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