The Possessive Case is now used chiefly with
names of living thing; as,
The
governor’s bodyground; the lion’s mane.
So we
must say :
The leg
of the table [not, the table’s leg].
The cover of the book [ not
, the book’s cover].
The roof of the house [not,
the house’s roof].
But Possessive is used with the names of personified* objects; as,
India’s heroes; Nature’s laws; fortune’s
favourite; at duty’s call; at death’s door.
The
Possessive is also used with nouns
denoting time, space or weight; as,
A day’s march; a week’s holiday; in a year’s time; a
stone’s throw; a foot’s length; a pounds’ weight.
The
following phrases are also in common use:
At his
fingers’ ends; for Merch’s sake; to his heart’s content; at his wit’s end; a
boat’s crew.
The Possessive
of a proper name or of a noun denoting a trade, profession, or relationship may
be used to denote a building or place of business (church, house, school,
college, shop, hospital, theatre etc.); as,
She has gone to the baker’s (= baker’s shop).
Tonight I am dining at my uncle’s (= uncle’s
house).
Can you tell be the way to St. Paul’s ( = St.
Paul’s church)?
I attend
the Town High School but my cousin attends St. Xavier’s.
He was
educated at St. Joseph’s
when
you are in doubt whether to use a noun in the possessive case or with the preposition of, remember that, as a general rule possessive case is
sued to denote possession or ownership. Thus it is better to say ‘ the defeat
of the enemy’ than enemy ‘s defat’, even though no doubt as to the meaning would
arise.
Sometimes, however, a noun in the
possessive case has a different meaning from a noun used with the preposition of;
as,
The Prime Minister reception in
Delhi’ means a reception held by the Prime Minister in Delhi.
The reception
of the Prime minister in Delhi’ means the manner in which the people welcomed
him when he entered Delhi.
The
phrase ‘the love of a father’ may mean either ‘ a father’s love of his
child’ or ‘a child’s love of his
father’.
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