The Genitive Case may be used to express several meanings:

1. possession:……………………………………

2. relation of the whole to its parts:……………

3. personal / social relations:…………………

4. authorship:……………………………………

5. measurements:…………………………………

6. subjective relations:…………………………

7. objective relations:……………………………

8. a quality of something:………………………

Examples: a day’s trip, Nina’s coming (Nina has come), the criminal’s arrest (they

arrested the criminal), Lina Kostenko’s poem, the horse’s leg, Bohdan’s

friend, Mary’s note-book, she has got angel’s eyes.

B. Supply the rule with the necessary examples from the list below.

The Genitive Case is used with:	An –of phrase is used with:
Names of persons and higher animals: ………………………………………………	Inanimate objects:……………………… ………………………………………………
Nouns denoting time, distance and measurement:…………………………………	Abstract notions:………………………… ………………………………………………
Names of countries and towns, or with nouns ‘world’, ‘nation’, ‘country’, ‘city’, ‘town’, ship’, ‘car’:……………………………….	Nouns denoting time, distance and measurement (sometimes with other meaning):…………………………………
Names of newspapers:…………………………
Nouns ‘sun’, ‘moon’, ‘earth’:…………………	Long phrases:…………………………… ………………………………………………
In a number of set phrases: a pin’s head, at one’s finger’s end, for goodness’ sake, at arm’s length, ……………………………………

Examples: the motorbike’s wheels, two hours’ drive, the leg of a chair, Ukraine’s population, the world’s top racers, to move at a snail’s pace, a matter of trial and error, today’s newspapers, The Guardian’s columnist, Welsh revolt of 1283, a friend of my mother’s cousin, Mr. Scott’s letters, a year’s absence, the newspapers of today, a cat’s tail, the sun’s beam.

The Double Genitive is used in the meaning ‘one of’: This is a friend of my mother’s. = one of my mother’s friends The Group Genitive is used to show that several people are related to something in common: Mum and Dad’s room.

Mind the difference: My brother’s photo = the photo that belongs to my brother = the photo with the image of my brother The photo of my brother = the photo with the image of my brother

Exercise 7.8. Match the names of shops and departments with the sentences. Pay attention to the use of the Absolute Genitive.

The baker’s the butcher’s the grocer’s the greengrocer’s

the fishmonger’s the haberdashery the confectioner’s the stationer’s

the hairdresser’s the barber’s the chemist’s lady’s footwear

the florist’s the ironmonger’s men’s wear

1. We buy bread and rolls at …………………………………………………..

2. We buy sweets and pastry at …………………………………………………..

3. We buy pills and tablets at……………………………………………………..

4. We buy men’s suits at…………………………………………………………….

5. We buy fish at ………………………………………………………………….

6. We buy meat at …………………………………………………………………

7. We buy cereals at………………………………………………………………….

8. We buy apples, greens and cabbage at……………………………………………..

9. We buy pens, rulers and erasers at ………………………………………………..

10. We buy pins at……………………………………………………………………

11. A lady does her hair at……………………………………………………………

12. A man can be shaved at…………………………………………………………..

13. We buy lady’s shoes at…………………………………………………………….

14. We buy nails and screws at ……………………………………………….

15. We buy flowers at ……………………………………………………………

Exercise 7.9. Translate into English, using –s genitive wherever possible:

Футболка мого брата, футболки мого брата, одна з футболок мого брата, книга моїх сестер, книги моїх сестер;

оцінка його дочки, оцінки його дочки, оцінки його дітей, оцінки дітей його невістки, друзі наших друзів, кабінет головного редактора, знання жінок-лікарів, успіхи сина мого друга, машина родичів наших сватів;

машина Джона і машина Мері, машина Джона і Мері, сестра королеви Великої Британії, речі когось іншого, сумка дівчини, яку я бачив учора;

романи Діккенса, убивство Цезаря (Caesar), ідеї Аристотеля (Aristotle), закон Архімеда (Archimedes), Cобор святого Павла, контрольні Алекса, квіти Аліси;

відстань в одну милю, роль Таймс, на відстані простягнутої руки, мовчання у декілька хвилин, зміст коробки, промені сонця, Національна опера України, швидка допомога (ambulance service) міста Харкова, черепашачою ходою, приїзд генерала, добробут нації.

Practicing Grammar

Exercise 7. 12. Match the nouns and their definitions. Comment on the category of number of the nouns in the left column.

vermin	a small fat bird with feathered feet, that is shot for sport to be eaten.
plaice	a small area in a desert, where water and plants are found
aircraft	birds that are kept on farms to produce eggs or to be killed for food
runner-up	a formal word for children, to name animals’ young
oasis	a flat sea fish
lobster	a sea creature that has a shell, two claws and eight legs
grouse	a sea fish
offspring	a person, who won the second prize at competitions
poultry	Air Force, fleet, or: an airplane
mullet	cockroaches, rats, mice, flees etc

Exercise 7. 13. Use the necessary forms of the verbs “to be”, “to have” and “to live”. Translate the following sentences into Russian and analyze the use of the italisized nouns in them.

1. There … many bison in this National Park.

2. Fish … good for health.

3. There …. a lot of herring in this area, so we’re going fishing in the morning.

4. This moose … rather old. Moose usually … not more than 25 years.

5. Dice …. rather popular in the Eastern countries.

6. These deer …several offspring.

7. Salmon … good for different kinds of pies.

8. There … two series of burglaries in the city; the second series …especially cruel.

9. This species of roses … very exquisite. And these two …the species of the latest selection.

10. Several hovercraft … seen in the neutral waters.

11. Aircraft … used for different purposes nowadays.

12. Plaice …rarely found in the southern seas.

13. The machinery … too old at this plant.

14. The vermin always … a great trouble for the inhabitants of old houses.

Exercise 7. 14. Use the necessary form of the verb. Mark it, where both singular and plural forms are possible.

1. The scissors … (to be) sharp.

2. At present the government … (to discuss) the situation in the country.

3. The trousers … ( to be) torn.

4. There … (to be) a lot of people in the streets of the city.

5. The cattle … (to graze) in the field at present.

6. Now the jury … (to try) to come to a certain decision.

7. The peoples of the world … (to want) to live in peace.

8. The police … (to investigate) the case.

9. Vermin usually … (to live) where there … (to be) a lot of litter.

10. The committee … (to have) a meeting now.

11. Our family … (to like) going the races together.

12. Our family … (to be) early-risers.

13. The crowd already … (to gather) around the broken car.

14. A crowd … ( to be) very dangerous for children and old people.

15. The news … (to become) known to everybody.

16. The Headquarters just… (to move) to Brussels.

17. Bowls … (not to be) a thrilling game, but the dice … (to be).

18. … (to be) there any crossroads nearby?

19. Many species of animals already … (to die out).

20. The species … (to be) well-known to the scientists.

Exercise 7.15. Translate into English, using –’s genitive wherever possible:

1. Ця сумка – моя, а та – моєї тітки.

2. Це фотографія моєї подруги. Моя подруга на ній дуже красива.

3. Ми вже вивчили текст восьмого уроку, а ти?

4. Ти вже бачив квартиру Пітера і Мері? – Ще ні, але я збираюсь відвідати їх у неділю.

5. Вам подобається нова пісня цього українського композитора?

6. Професори обговорюють статті сина мого друга.

7. Чим займається сестра Чарльза? – Вона художниця. – Чим вона зараз займається? – Вона зараз пише портрет сестри своєї свекрухи.

8. Ти уже продивився сьогоднішню «Сандей Таймс»? – Ще ні, але я прочитав усю сьогоднішню «Гардіан».

9. Твори Діккенса і Теккерея дуже популярні серед читачів.

10. Чиї це речі? – Мого друга. Онде він пливе далеко в морі!

Living with Grammar

Note: Words to denote nationality are formed according to several schemes. Substantivised adjectives, ending in -ese, -ss, have identical singular and plural forms. Substantivised adjectives, ending in –ian, can be made plural. Words, ending in –man, change their last element into the plural form.

Exercise 7. 17.