CASE

- The function is to represent relationships between nouns in sentence ® reflected in use of prepositions and by structure if the sentence
- Semantic category
- The only relic from past times (when English was more difficult) is the genitive ‘s

1. The distribution of the ‘s genitive relation to noun classes
Used with personal animate nouns, those who have reference to human features
Sometimes with low animal nouns
With inanimate – geographical, temporal nouns, locative nouns, special reference to human feature (mind, hair)
Duty and love may be signs of personification or refer to human beings

2. Semantic types of ‘s genitive
Possessive Mr. Johnson’s car
Subjective student’s application
Objective the family’s support, team’s defeat
Specifying the girl’s face
Classifying children’s clothes
Descriptive a summer’s day
Attributive the hero’s courage
Origin Byron’s poetry
Source cow’s milk
Temporal today’s work
Measure an hour’s discussion
Relational John’s train

3. Structural variant of the ‘s genitive (special use of ‘s genitive)
The independent genitive My car is faster than John’s
The local genitive Let’s meet at bill’s
The double genitive Jim’s friend – a friend of Jim’s
That dog of my neighbour’s has bitten me again

4. The grammatical functions of the ‘s genitive
Determiner (definite) in the nominal group my daughter’s new teacher
Modifier in the nominal group He wants to be a ship’s doctor
Qualifier in the nominal group a patient of Dr. Brown’s


- Genitive can be made with preposition of
- ‘s and of genitive are not equal