§4.Some special cases of the possessive case.

§4.1. “Group - possessive”.

The possessive case suffix – ‘s/ – ‘ may be added not only to a single noun but to a whole group of

words. It’s called “group-possessive”. We find various patterns here:

e.g. Smith and Brown’s office Jack and Ann’s children

(two people possess something in common)

the Prime Minister of England’s residence the Prince of Denmark’s tragedy

(the residence is not of England but of the Prime Minister)

(the tragedy is not of Denmark but of the Prince)

somebody else’s umbrella an hour or two’s time

(in these examples the last element of the group is not a noun)

the man we saw yesterday’s son (this example can puzzle anybody but the fact is the son belongs to the man but not to yesterday)

§4.2. The absolute possessive.

1. If the noun which is modified by the possessive case has already been mentioned and is clear from the text, it may be omitted to avoid repetition.

e.g. It was not John’s brother, but Mary’s. I heard a voice; it was my brother’s.

2. The noun modified by the possessive case is also often omitted when it denotes place (house, shop, cathedral, etc) or institutions, where the possessive is usually a saint’s name.

e.g. I saw him at my father’s (house).

Go to the baker’s (shop). You can buy it at the chemist’s (shop).

We had lunch at Bill’s (place).

They went to St. Paul’s (Cathedral).

The ceremony took place at St. James’s (palace).

Names of the owners of some businesses can be used similarly.

e.g. Sotheby’s Claridge’s

§4.3. THE COMBINATION “OF + POSSESSIVE”.

The combination “of + possessive case” (a friend of my brother’s) or “of + possessive pronoun”

(a friend of mine) has usually a partitive meaning, denoting “one of …..” .

e.g. He is an old friend of my father’s. - (Он один из старых друзей моего отца.)

But sometimes the partitive meaning is lost and the construction acquires emotional force (denoting

praise, pleasure, displeasure, etc.) or becomes purely descriptive.

e.g. We all admired that clever remark of your father’s.

That cottage of my friend’s is surrounded by a beautiful orchard.

§4.4. A possessive governing another possessive

If a possessive governs another possessive, as we see in Russian in: комната жены моего

брата, the former is expressed in English by the of-phrase, the latter by the possessive case.

e.g. The room of my brother's wife.

The wedding of Brown's sister.

The use of the possessive of both nouns is rare:

Scrooge's niece's sister... expressed the same opinion. (Dickens.) My son's wife's family are old people.