28. What is the genitive case? How is it formed?

29. What nouns can be used in the genitive case?

The genitive case, on the contrary, is very much restricted in its meaning and application. As a rule, it will be formed from concrete nouns denoting living beings (persons or animals). The English genitive case partly corresponds in its use to the Russian genitive case.

The boy's book was lying on the table.

(книга мальчика)

At first I didn't recognize the boy's voice.

(голос мальчика)

Simple (one-stem) nouns ending in “s” in the singular:

Actress’s, Dickens’s/Dickens’, Burns’s/Burns’, Soames’

Simple (one-stem) nouns forming their plural without the ending “-s”:

Men’s, children’s, women’s, sheep’s, mice’s

Compound (two or more stem) nouns or phrases:

Boy-friend’s, room-mate’s, commander-in-chief’s, father-in-law’s, passer-by’s, Mary and John’s, The King of England’s, Charles The Second’s, an hour or two’s

The genitive case is also sometimes formed from inanimate nouns, especially the following:

• the nouns "world", "country", "nation", "city", "town", "government", "society", etc.

the world's politics; the government's committee; the nation's prosperity, etc.

• nouns — names of countries, cities, towns

England's prime minister; London's municipal buildings

• nouns (substantivized adverbs) denoting time or distance a moment's delay; a mile's

distance; today's newspapers

• nouns denoting planets

the sun's rays.

30. What are “participle adjectives”?

31. What adjectives have degrees of comparison and how are they formed?

Adjectives (but only qualitative) change their form to express degrees of comparison. They generally speak about the following forms: the positive degree, the comparative degree, the superlative degree.

The comparative degree will be used to indicate a higher degree, the superlative degree — the highest of the quality expressed by the adjective. The positive degree, however, does not indicate the degree of the quality, but only the quality itself.

Positive degree Comparative degree Superlative degree

pretty prettier prettiest

good better best

pleasant more pleasant most pleasant

Formation of the Degrees of Comparison of Adjectives

a) one-syllable adjectives

Positive degree	Comparative degree	Superlative degree	Spelling and pronunciation rules
cheap great	cheaper greater	cheapest greatest
large	larger	largest	The final "e" is left out.
big fat	bigger fatter	biggest fattest	A single consonant after a single short vowel is doubled.
easy dry	easier drier	easiest driest	"y" after a consonant is changed into "i"
gay	gayer	gayest	"y" after a vowel is not changed.

b) two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, -er, -le, -ow

	Positive degree	Comparative degree	Superlative degree
-y	lucky happy tidy lovely silly	luckier happier tidier lovelier sillier	luckiest happiest tidiest loveliest silliest
-er	clever	cleverer	cleverest
-le	able feeble gentle simple	abler feebler gentler simpler	ablest feeblest gentlest simplest
-ow	narrow shallow	narrower shallower	narrowest shallowest

c) two-syllable and many-syllable adjectives

Positive degree	Comparative degree	Superlative degree
certain interesting	more certain more interesting	most certain most interesting