Possessives or Compound NounsPossessives or Compound Nouns :
How to use the genitive inflection? We can demonstrate the link between two nouns either by using possessive forms (the US bank's finance division / the finance division of the US bank) or compound nouns (the US bank finance division). Sometimes all three are possible, as here. Sometimes one form is more likely than another. Possessive forms : 's or of ? We normally use the genitive or possessive 's structure when we are referring to ownership and possession, people and animals, personal and professional relationships, or the origin of something in a country or organisation: In examples relating to country and organisations, i.e. things which are inanimate, both forms are often possible: We also use the possessive 's to express certain ideas relating to time: Compound nouns are sometimes also possible here: Note that although we talk about New Year's Day all other special days in the calendar are formed with compound nouns: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Easter Day, Bank Holiday Monday, etc. When talking about resolutions, it can be either New Year resolutions (more likely) or New Year's resolutions (less likely). Note that when we refer to a specific date, the of structure is used: Compound nouns (noun + noun): Note the frequency of compound nouns in the previous two examples - holidaymakers, stomach bug, cruise ship, Sunday Times, Renaissance paintings, earthquake. When we use compound nouns like these, the first noun has the same function as a classifying adjective - it tells or describes the nature of the second noun: Compound nouns are particularly useful in newspaper headlines and reports as they enable a lot of information to be summarised quickly: Learning English Index | ||
|
|
