Page 103 - Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing and Speaking

was meant: 30-gallon bags = Each bag is 30 gallons in size.
■ 30 gallon-bags = There are 30 one-gallon bags.

8.2 Possessives

In English, we show ownership of a thing by changing the ending of the word

for that thing, or by using of in a particular way.

■ For most singular nouns, we simply add an apostrophe (’) and -s: country
■■ country’s border house house’s garage woman woman’s

education For nouns that already end in -s, either because that’s how they’re

spelled or because they’re plural, we can add just an apostrophe, though some
■style guides add -’s to singular nouns that end in -s: chess chess’ rule or

■■■chess’s rule birds birds’ wings programs programs’ schedule
senators senators’ election See section 4.6 on making names that end in -s

possessive.

■ You can also use -’s to show ownership of a whole phrase: the amazing
■new product’s price the ancient Chinese statue’s height Sometimes in

English we use of to show possession, but it is mainly for relationships, for
extreme emphasis of ownership, or when a series of things possessing things is

trying to be explained. These constructions are often awkward and, if overused,
can be confusing.

■ ■ a friend of Meghan = Meghan’s friend not a single employee of this
■ company is permitted = no company employee is permitted the cat of

the man of Orchard Road = the Orchard Road man’s cat As you can

see in the third example, of can also indicate association rather than
ownership: of Orchard Road. That association can also be expressed through

the use of an attributive noun, where the noun is behaving like an adjective:
Orchard Road man.

8.3 Collective Nouns