Username
sigurd
Member Since
February 1, 2011
Total number of comments
43
Total number of votes received
35
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Interchangeability of possessive “s” and “of”
- November 25, 2011, 6:44am
Another correction: ‘A Loxley’s townsman and an Arc’s townswoman, [...]’.
Interchangeability of possessive “s” and “of”
- November 25, 2011, 4:23am
I meant ‘[...] his Babylonian captivity [...]’.
Interchangeability of possessive “s” and “of”
- November 25, 2011, 4:20am
I very much appreciate all the answers.
I know now ‘possession’’s meaning is broader in the linguistic sense and can denote association distinct from property. However, I still don’t see how ‘the Covenant’s Ark’, ‘Ezekiel’s Book’, ‘Loxley’s Robin’ or ‘Arc’s Joan’ are wrong.
Containing the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) tablets, not only was the Ark closely associated (=linguistic possession) with the Covenant, the agreement between God and His people, but the Ark was also literally the Covenant’s property.
Ezekiel’s Book, describing his Babylonian capticity, was initially written by the priest prophet Ezekiel.
Loxley’s townsman and Arc’s townswoman by birth and upbringing, the famous Robin and Joan hailed respectively from Loxley and Arc and were so associated(=linguistic possession).
Interchangeability of possessive “s” and “of”
- November 23, 2011, 1:14pm
Thank you for answering, but I’m not entirely convinced ‘’s’ only denotes possession. I think it can also denote association.
E.g., ‘Though Godfrey’s friend, Liam isn’t owned by Godfrey’ and ‘The town’s hero Jack, though not town property, was praised by the townsfolk’.
Had he breakfast this morning?
- November 20, 2011, 1:48pm
Oh, I see now. Thank you, Warsaw, for the helpful answer. :)
Correct way to omit words?
- November 12, 2011, 9:23am
Correction: ‘porsche’ with ‘s’.
Correct way to omit words?
- November 12, 2011, 9:20am
porche, referring to your last paragraph, does that mean ‘Had he breakfast this morning?’ is correct when meaning ‘Did he have breakfast this morning?’ I just want to be sure.
Correct way to omit words?
- November 12, 2011, 9:13am
Moreover, if ‘Haven't you anything better to do?’ when meaning ‘Have you not anything better do?’ is correct, then, following the same logic, isn’t ‘Hadn't you been there, they would have fallen through the ice’ also correct when meaning ‘Had you not been there, they would have fallen through the ice’?
Semicolon between sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction
- October 25, 2011, 3:42am
Since the semicolon joins sentences, which can stand on their own, I think whether or not a coordinating conjunction can follow a semicolon as in the aforequoted examples depends on if an independent sentence can begin with a coordinating conjunction.
Is ‘And that is a promise I will keep’ correct?
Questions
Whom are you? | October 14, 2010 |
Is there a gustative equivalent to the olfactory “malodour”? | February 1, 2011 |
i’s vs “i”s | February 15, 2011 |
Rules for -ise and -ize | March 7, 2011 |
The opposite of “awaken”? | April 14, 2011 |
Is “nevermore” a real word? | April 24, 2011 |
While/among/amid vs whilst/amongst/amidst | September 14, 2011 |
Specifying time duration without “for” | September 20, 2011 |
Semicolon and omission of repetitive words | September 30, 2011 |
whensoever vs. whenever | October 3, 2011 |
Semicolon between sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction | October 15, 2011 |
Correct way to omit words? | November 10, 2011 |
Had he breakfast this morning? | November 19, 2011 |
Interchangeability of possessive “s” and “of” | November 23, 2011 |
...ward/s and un...worthy | November 26, 2011 |
ye, yer, yers | December 23, 2011 |
-ic vs -ical | September 11, 2012 |
Interchangeability of possessive “s” and “of”
To me, they sound natural. In British English, I’ve heard people say, ‘[town/city/area name]’s [person]’ when association is meant, especially as a way to differentiate the person mentioned from other familiar namesakes. E.g., ‘Do you remember Yorkshire’s Laura?’ and ‘I just saw Gloucestershire’s Jamie at the pub.’
However, I just realized, because Loxley still very much exists and may have many Robins, using ‘Robin of Loxley’ instead of ‘Loxley’s Robin’ is useful in differentiating Loxley’s historic Robin from other Robins.
Likewise, ‘Joan of Arc’ is probably more useful when referring to the historic one. Oh, and it turns out (just checked) Joan of Arc was born in Domrémy, not Arc. Apparently, she got her surname, d'Arc, from her father.