A moment like, occupies far from the last place in grammar textbooks. Without this theme, how can we talk about the ownership of something? You can still somehow deal with inanimate nouns, but what about in other cases? First things first...
Possessive case rules in English
As you know, possessive case rules English language are needed to express the ownership of an object to a certain person. That is, today we will learn to say “friend’s house”, “wife’s letters” and so on. The following instructions will help you figure out what's what.
1. According to the standard rule, the ownership of an object is expressed by adding an apostrophe and –s to the animate person to whom the thing belongs.
For example: my sister 's powder - my sister's powder
2. If the object belongs to a plural noun (formed according to the rules, using –s), then you only need to add an apostrophe to this word.
For example: my sisters ’ house – my sisters' house
3. In cases where a noun forms plural In particular, it is recommended to adhere to the standard rule (apostrophe + -s).
For example: the children 's toys - children's toys
4. If in a sentence you need to name two persons to whom something belongs, then an apostrophe and –s are added to the last noun.
For example: Peter and Mary 's apartment – Peter and Mary’s apartment
5. There are phrases with compound nouns. In this case, the apostrophe and –s It is recommended to add to the last part.
For example: my mother-in-law 's dog - my mother-in-law's dog
6. The rules of the possessive case in English usually apply only to animate nouns. That is, inanimate nouns are not friendly with an apostrophe + -s. The pretext we know will help here of.
For example: a piece of paper - a piece of paper
Possessive case in English. Examples
Agree, it’s not at all difficult to start using possessive case in English. Examples, which are presented below, will help you understand even better.
|
example |
translation |
|
Look! It's my brother 's wife! |
Look! This is my brother's wife! |
|
These women 's recommendations are awful. |
|
|
The piece of cheese on the table is yours. |
The piece of cheese on the table is yours. |
|
John and Bob 's suites are new. |
John and Bob's costumes are new. |
|
My uncle 's friends are outside. |
English has two cases: common and possessive. Let's look at each one separately.
Common case - Common case
Nouns in the general case are used in the functions of the subject (and correspond in Russian to a noun in the nominative case), the nominal part of a compound predicate, complement, and adverbial case.
The general case form alone, without the help of additional means, cannot convey the relationship of a noun to other words in a sentence. Such additional funds in English, the order of words in a sentence and prepositions are: of - corresponds to the genitive case, to - to the dative case, by, with - to the instrumental case, of, about - to the prepositional case with the prepositions “about” and “about”.
For example:
The dean spoke of our faculty.
The dean (the dean - nominative case) spoke about our faculty.
Students greeted the dean.
The students greeted the dean (accusative case).
The lecture of the dean was listened to with great attention.
The dean's lecture (genitive case) was listened to with great attention.
A very interesting story was told by the dean.
Very interesting story was told by the dean (the instrumental case).
He missed many lectures and had to explain the reason to the dean.
He has missed many lectures and must explain the reason to the dean (dative case).
She told me many interesting things about our new dean.
She told me a lot of interesting things about our new dean (prepositional case).
Possessive case - Possessive case
Nouns in the possessive case denote the ownership of an object or concept, answering the question whose? - whose?, or relation to another subject, answering the questions what? - which one?, how much? - How many? etc. The possessive case is used in the function of definition and stands before the word being defined.
My sister's room... My sister's room...
The possessive case is formed:
Using an apostrophe (") and the letter s ("s) for singular nouns and for plural nouns that do not end in -s:
the boy's room - the boy's room, Tom's book - Tom's book, the men's hats - men's hats, women's work - women's work.
Only use an apostrophe (") for plural nouns ending in -s:
the boys" room - the boys' room, the students answers - the students' answers.
In the form of the possessive case we use:
Mainly nouns denoting animate objects:
my teacher's pen - my teacher's pen. Tom's friends - Tom's friends.
Nouns meaning:
time - with words such as minute, hour, day, week, night, month, year, expressing the meaning “during”, “per period”, etc. (unlike cases when this case is not used - see point 2 of the next paragraph):
today's newspapers - today's newspapers, an hour's absence - absence for an hour, a week's holiday - a week's vacation, a year's journey - a journey that lasts a year;
distance:
a mile s distance - a distance of a mile, two kilometres" walk - a path of two kilometers;
price:
ten dollars worth of chocolate - 10 dollars worth of chocolate;
names of stars and planets:
the Sun's rays - the sun's rays, the Moon's light - moonlight, the Earth's resources - the resources of the Earth;
names of countries, cities, etc.:
the United States" participation - participation of the United States, Moscow s squares - Moscow squares, this Liverpool"s Cathedral - this Liverpool Cathedral;
moving mechanisms or machine parts (in the language of technical literature):
the plane's propellers - airplane propellers.
Notes
Relationships expressed using the possessive case can be conveyed by a construction with the preposition of:
France's economy - the economy of France - the economy of France.
In cases where the belonging of something to something is expressed (i.e. belonging inanimate object), then, as a rule, a construction with the preposition of is used:
the walls of the town - the walls of the city, the legs of the table - table legs.
Possessive nouns can be used without a subsequent location noun. In this case, the possessive case has a local meaning.
For example: at my sister's - in my sister's house, at the baker's - in the bakery.
The possessive case is not used:
If of two, usually inanimate, nouns, the first acts as a definition with a pronounced meaning “characteristic, ordinary, used for something,” etc. and the combination is considered as a single, holistic concept:
a street lamp is a street lamp, and a newspaper article is a newspaper article.
With words that express time and act as definitions:
summer holidays - summer holidays, November fogs - November fogs, birthday party - evening on the occasion of a birthday (time is expressed through age).
With names of cities, regions, proper names, etc., when they are an integral element of the name:
the Gomel University - Gomel University, “The Vitebsk Worker” - “Vitebsk Worker” (newspaper), the Pushkin Museum - Pushkin Museum.
With the names of items of clothing, equipment with shades of the meaning described in paragraph I:
a football ground - a football ground, a coffee cup - a coffee cup.
There are 6 cases in Russian, and only 2 in English. Does this mean that they do not need to be studied? Of course not. Without knowing the rules for forming cases and expressing case relations, you will not be able to freely operate with vocabulary and construct grammatically correct and understandable phrases. So let's consider cases more details.
What are the cases in English?
- General case, which is divided into subjective and objective:
- Subjective case, which is also called nominal. It indicates that the part of speech in a sentence functions as the subject. This is true for both nouns and pronouns.
- Objective case or Used to designate a noun or pronoun as the recipient of an action. For nouns this is not very relevant, but in the case of personal pronouns oblique case significantly affects the form of the word.
- Possessive or Possessive It is used to express the ownership of some objects or subjects by others.
Below we will look at the cases in more detail.
Important! Only nouns in the possessive case change their form in oral speech and in writing. It is formed by adding the ending to the word - s. In other cases, nouns do not change their form. This is why it is often said that English is the easiest language to learn. However, with pronouns the situation is different. Their form changes depending on the case, and it is most convenient to trace these changes using the example of personal pronouns,
Common case of nouns
In the common case, if a noun is used without a preposition, its function in the sentence depends on where it appears. This is achieved due to the analytical nature of the language, when instead of endings, changing the place of a word in a sentence and adding prepositions is used to express case relations. This is one of the reasons why English is considered the most in simple language for studying. As such, there are no complex rules for changing words by case; moreover, the lack of designation of grammatical genders in writing greatly simplifies the matter.
Nouns without prepositions and their translation
If a noun comes before the predicate in an affirmative sentence or before auxiliary verb in the interrogative, then in the sentence it plays the role of the subject and is translated in the nominative case.
If a noun comes after a predicate in a function, then it is translated in the accusative case.
If between the direct object and the predicate there is a noun without a preposition as an object, then it is translated into the accusative case.
Nouns with prepositions and their translation
To make it easier to understand prepositions and case relations, we put them in a table. The table shows the cases of pronouns and nouns, the prepositions with which they are indicated in English, and examples with translation.
| Will give birth. P. | From of (expresses belonging and denotes a part of the whole) |
Definition of previous noun | She had received a letter from her boyfriend- She got The handle of the frying-pot is broken – The frying pan handle is broken a cup of tea - a cup of tea a dress of wool - woolen dress |
| Dat. P. | To | I gave the money to my mom - I gave the money to my mother She bought a dress for her daughter – She bought a dress for her daughter |
|
| TV P. | By | A prepositional object denoting something that performs an action on the subject in the passive voice Prepositional complement. Denotes something with the help of which one or another action is performed |
The cake was made by my sister – The cake was made by my sister The play was written by an unknown writer - The play was written by an unknown author by bus - by bus, by bus with knife - with a knife She always ate porridge with this spoon - She always ate oatmeal with this spoon |
| Etc. P. | About | Prepositional indirect object | They told us about their new discovery - They told us about their new discovery He spoke of sport and competitions - He spoke about sports and competitions |
Possessive
Nouns in the possessive case always denote ownership and come before the noun that they define. Only animate nouns are used in the possessive case. Inanimate nouns are used in this case only in some cases.
How is the possessive case formed? For animate nouns
For animate nouns that are in singular. h., the possessive case is formed using the ending ‘s, which is added to the word:
the Queen’s crown - the queen’s crown, the dog’s bone - dog bone, Mike’s dad - Mike’s dad
If an animate noun ends in -s, then simply ‘ or -‘s is added to it:
Jhones’s friend = Jhones’ friend - Jones’ friend
With the plural, everything is simpler. If you need to put a noun in the plural. in the possessive case, only an apostrophe is added - ‘. Phonetically, no changes occur. For example:
boys’ toys – boys’ toys
If the noun forms the plural. according to other rules, that for them the possessive case is formed in the same way as in the first case - by adding the ending – ‘s:
Child’s cat – children’s cat – children’s cat
goose's feather - geese's feather - geese feathers
What inanimate nouns are used in the possessive case?
Below we will look in table form at which groups of inanimate nouns are used in the possessive case:
| Group of nouns | Examples |
| Time, distance, periods of the day, cost | Month's salary - monthly salary the night’s cold - night coolness at a kilometer’s distance – at a kilometer distance seven dollar’s worth – worth seven dollars |
| Denoting concepts world, earth, nature, continent, sea, ocean, country, city, ship and their derivatives | The world’s population – world population the earth’s future - the future of the Earth Africa’s past - Africa’s past Paris’ caffee - Parisian cafe the ocean’s beauty – the beauty of the ocean |
| Collective nouns that denote gatherings of groups of people | The nation's heroes - heroes of the nation the society’s future - the future of society the crew’s decision - team decision the family's secret - family secret |
| Stars and planets | The sun's heat - the heat of the sun |
| Category of adverbs of time | Today's mail - today's mail Tomorrow's decision - tomorrow's decision yesterday’s news - yesterday’s news |
| Pronouns that replace animate nouns | Somebody's bag - someone's bag nobody's dog - no one's dog everybody's duty - everyone's duty |
Pronoun cases: what you need to know
Pronouns have the same cases as nouns. However, if nouns undergo minor changes when expressing case relations, then pronouns can completely change their form. This is best seen in the example of personal pronouns in the plural, which almost completely change their form. Interrogative and relative pronouns also change, but remain recognizable and their use is intuitive.
| Subjective case | I, you, he, she, it my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its me, you, him, her, it |
She likes coffee most of all – She loves coffee most of all This nice cat is mine - This cute cat is mine Why do you hate me so much?? - Why do you hate me so much? |
| Subjective case |
And numerals, which serve to connect words in a sentence. But cases in English, which are variants of the same word (word form), still exist. Fortunately, there are only 3 of them: objective, subjective and possessive. Let's talk about each one of them. C'mon.
Subjective and objective cases in English
To understand the concept of the objective case, we will have to go back in time and recall a little the school course of the Russian language. We all remember that the subject is a word in the nominative case. As for the rest of the nouns and pronouns in the sentence, they will most often be objects. In English everything follows the same principle. A pronoun or noun is either the subject ( subject), or an addition ( object). Recall that the subject answers the question “who?” So what"? (Nominative case). It's easy to guess that subject will stand in subjective case, A additions- V objective case.
A man saw a dog near a building.
There are 3 nouns in this sentence: a man, a dog and a building.
At the first place, as always, is subject for which it is used subjective case in English. Followed by addition a dog, which, accordingly, is in objective case. As can be seen from the example, the form of the noun has not changed.
Object case for pronouns
With nouns everything is simple - they do not change their form for both cases (subjective and objective). But pronouns have their own special form in case they do not take the place of the subject:
I saw him, and he saw me.
Possessive case in English
If everything is more or less clear with the subjective and objective cases, since they correspond to the case forms of the Russian language, then we do not have the possessive case. We answer questions of belonging (“whose?”, “whose?”, “whose?”, “whose?”) with an adjective. And in English this function is performed by the category of case of nouns and pronouns.
However, the implementation of the possessive function will be different for nouns and pronouns.
To indicate ownership of nouns, use "" s“Moreover, the ending is added to the noun to which something belongs.
This is my mother's bag
This is mom's bag.
If noun ends with hissing or " s", then they simply add apostrophe :
I"ll take my parents" car.
I'll take my parents' car.
It should be distinguished possessive «" s» from verb abbreviations « is» — «" s».
I like John's new blazer.
Whose new blazer is it? Jonah, that's why John's — possessive noun John
I think John's right.
What is John doing? Is right, so John's — reduction from John is right.
Now let's look at some special cases use of the possessive ending "" s»:
- If the plural form of a noun ends not on « s", then we use the full version of the possessive ending - apostrophe + « s": mouse - mice. The main character is mice"s King.- The main character is the King of Mouse.
- In English there are compound nouns consisting of several words. As a rule, they are written with a hyphen. to such words "" s" is added after the very last word: We all waited for The-Boy-Who-Lived's speech.- We were all waiting for the speech of the boy who lived.
The possessive case of inanimate nouns is formed using the preposition “ of", not endings "" s" (the headquarter of the company). But there are exceptions for:
- Planets - Jupiter's size.
- Newspapers and organizations - Times's editor UNESCO's operation.
- Distances and times - ten meter"s height, a minute"s business.
- Seasons and months - summer's sadness, July's hit.
- Cities and countries - Minsk's Main Square, Russian"s elite force.
Words like nature, ship, nation, country,car, water, city, boat, ocean and town - ship's crew, nation's pride car's engine etc.
Pronouns to express belonging also have their own form:
My son is the smartest in his class.
My son is the smartest in his class.
As can be seen from the example, after possessive pronoun must be a noun. However, pronouns have an absolute form, which allows them to be used without a noun or in a different position (not just in front).
He was a friend of mine.
He was my friend.
Where are your socks? -I don't know, but yours are there.
Where are your socks? - I don’t know, but yours are there.
That's all absolute forms of possessives pronouns:
Got me thinking... Who am I writing this to? It was not enough to become a schizo. I’d better go spin the slots ----------
Conclusion
Cases in English perform slightly different functions than in Russian. This can cause difficulties when translating and trying to express your thoughts. But there are only three of them, and the method of formation is easier than in the Russian language - you don’t need to remember the spelling of endings based on such complex concepts, as declension, gender and number.
To improve your usage skills English cases, as well as practice using them and clarify the remaining nuances, use the services of an online tutor. It's quick, simple and doesn't even require you to leave your home. Try it ;)
Big and friendly EnglishDom family
Case is a grammatical category that shows the connection of a noun with other words in a sentence. Previously, there were several cases in English, but over time only two remained: common case(the common case) and possessive(the possessive/genitive case).
The Common Case
Form general case all nouns have. In the common case, nouns have a zero ending ( car,bird), i.e. this case is not indicated in any way. That is why, in the absence of prepositions, the relationship of such nouns to other words in a sentence is determined only by the place it occupies in the sentence.
Let's consider what functions a noun in the general case can perform in a sentence.
- The noun that comes before the predicate is used in the function subject and corresponds in Russian to a noun in the nominative case.
For example:
Thedog bit the man. — Dog bit a man. (Who bit? The dog.)
- The noun that comes after the predicate performs the function direct object and corresponds in Russian to a noun in the accusative case without a preposition.
For example:
The dog bit theman. — The dog bit a man.(Who was bitten? A man.)
- If between the predicate and the noun that functions as a direct object there is another noun in the general case without a preposition that denotes a person, it is an indirect object. Such a noun corresponds in Russian to a noun in dative case without pretext.
For example:
Maria showed herfriends the photos. - Maria showed to my friends photos. (Who did you show it to? Friends.)
Nouns in the common case with prepositions of,to,by And with help to express relationships that in Russian are conveyed using indirect cases without prepositions. In this case, prepositions are not translated into Russian as separate words.
Nouns in the common case with the preposition OF
Noun in common case with preposition of corresponds in Russian to a noun in the genitive case and is a definition in relation to the noun that precedes it.
For example:
The walls of the house are made of brick. - Walls Houses made of brick. (Walls of what? Houses.)
Nouns in the common case with the preposition TO
Noun with preposition to corresponds in Russian to a noun in the dative case and is used as a prepositional indirect object.
For example:
Maria showed the photos toherfriends. — Maria showed photographs to my friends. (Who did you show it to? Friends.)
Nouns in the common case with the preposition BY
Noun with preposition by corresponds in Russian to a noun in the instrumental case. This combination is usually used in the passive voice to indicate actor or strength. The noun in this case is used as a prepositional object.
The book was written bymyfriend. - The book was written my friend. (Written by whom? A friend.)
The building was destroyed by the hurricane. The building was destroyed hurricane. (Destroyed by what? Hurricane.)
Nouns in the common case with the preposition WITH
Noun with preposition with also corresponds to a noun in the instrumental case in Russian. This combination is used to designate an object with which a certain action is performed. The noun in this case is also used as a prepositional object.
For example:
I can't write withthispen. - I can not write with this pen. (Write with what? Pen.)
Note: nouns in the general case can be used with any prepositions and convey those relationships that in Russian are expressed using indirect cases with prepositions.
For example:
I live with my friend.- I live with a friend.
This present is for you. - This gift for you.
The Possessive Case
Regarding the form possessive case, then only some groups of nouns have it (more on this below). The possessive case most often expresses the ownership of an object. A noun in the possessive case performs the function of determining in relation to another noun.
What does the possessive case look like?
Form
The possessive case is formed using an apostrophe and the letter s - 's — or just an apostrophe - ‘ . The first way you can get the possessive case form for nouns that are in the singular (your father -> your father ‘ s book = your father's book). Second way the form of the possessive case is obtained for the plural of nouns, which are formed according to the basic rule (his parents -> his parent s‘ car = his parents' car), as well as for some proper names that end in - s(Socrates -> Socrate s‘ ideas = Socrates' ideas ) .
If the plural of a noun is formed differently than most, then use first way(their children -> their children ‘ s toys = their children's toys ).
Note 1: for a compound noun ‘ s is added to its last element: my mother-in-law -> my mother-in- law ‘ s car = my mother-in-law's car; the passer-by —> the passer- by ‘ s glasses = passerby's glasses.
Note 2: Mary and Peter 's house = Mary and Peter's house (shared). BUT: Mary ‘ s and Peter ‘ s houses = Mary's house and Peter's house (each has their own) or = Mary's house and Peter's house (each has their own).
With which nouns is the possessive case used?
As mentioned above, not all nouns can form the possessive case. The following groups can do this:
1) animate
Mary's bag - Mary's bag
the boys’ bicycles - boys’ bicycles
the team’s defeat - team defeat
the tiger's cage - tiger cage
2) some are inanimate
- a) nouns that mean time And distance:
a month’s holiday - monthly vacation
a mile’s distance - one mile distance
- b) names countries And cities, as well as words world,country,city:
Germany's policy - German policy
the city’s museums - city museums
- c) nouns ship,boat,yacht:
the ship's name - the name of the ship
- d) some nouns that denote shops:
a/the baker’s / butcher’s / chemist’s etc. (shop) - bakery, butcher shop, pharmacy
a/the travel agent's etc. (office) - travel agency
the dentist’s / doctor’s / vet’s etc. (surgery) - dentist/doctor/veterinarian waiting room
NB! V in this case in a sentence it is enough to use the word directly in the form of the possessive case (for example: I’m at the travelagent's(= travel agent's office). She went to the baker's(= baker's shop). Word house also often omitted in such cases (for example: I had lunch at my friend's(= my friend’s house). — I had lunch with my friend).
- e) in phrases for heaven’s sake, for goodness’ sake- For heaven's sake
- f) some set expressions: at a snail's pace- like a snail (very slowly); a hair's breadth- by a hair's breadth
Note 3: With the exception of those listed above, inanimate nouns generally show ownership using a preposition. of.
the roof of the building
the door of the car
Note 4: Two nouns in the possessive case rarely come one after the other. Usually the preposition is used with the second noun in this case of.
For example:
This is the cat ofmy friend's daughter. (instead of This is my friend’s daughter’s cat)
Also of used when a noun denoting the object to which something belongs is followed by a phrase or clause:
For example:
I didn't take the advice of the woman I met in the city.
In what other cases can the possessive case be used?
On the one hand, the possessive case is used to show ownership. For example: the girl’s name.
On the other hand, it can convey certain qualitative characteristics of an object. In this case, we are not talking about belonging, but about the properties of the object.
For example:
a children’s room = children’s room
women's magazines = women's magazines
a Bachelor's degree - bachelor's degree
This is only true if we are talking about a relation to another noun (for example: the roof of a house ofthehouse). Other relationships conveyed in Russian genitive case, are expressed differently in English (for example: the chair is smaller than the table = the chair is smallerthan the table).
Those. by adding -s to the singular form.
The resulting word is pronounced in this case in the same way as the original: parents'- [ˈpeərənts].
Among proper names that end in -s, there are those in which the possessive case form can be formed in either way. For example: Burn s‘ life = Burns ‘ s life; Jone s‘ flat = Jones ‘ s flat.
Regardless of how exactly the form of the possessive case is formed in this case, the ending of the word, as a rule, reads as [...iz]: Jones’ / Jones’s - .
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