be expressed by an of-phrase, e.g., the cover of the book, which is often interchangeable with the genitive. There is another type of genitive, which is, as far as the form is concerned, a combination of the above two types of genitives, e.g., a friend of my brother?s, a construction termed “double genitive” or “post genitive”. 1) Genitive
(textbook P. 94)
genitive construction is favored with the noun classes as follows: a) Personal names b) Personal nouns
Mary?s dolls the girl?s notebook
the cat?s paws
c) Animal nouns, in particular, those denoting “higher animals” d) Collective nouns
The genitive is also used with collective nouns which emphasize the aspect of “organized individuals”, in particular, those denoting authoritative and other organizational bodies. e) Geographical names (continents, countries, states, cities, universities) e.g.
Asia?s economy, China?s population, Shandong?s development, Yantai?s electricity,
Harvard?s education
f) Locative nouns denoting regions, institutions, heavenly bodies, etc.
They can be very similar to geographical names, and are often written with initial capital letter. e.g.
The city?s environment, the Church?s choir, the earth?s surface
an hour?s ride, a day?s walk
g) Temporal nouns
h) Other nouns of special relevance to human activity e.g.
the mind?s power, the brain?s mechanism, the play?s structure
(Information in another book)
a) The genitive is commonly preferred with nouns referring to people
Mary?s books
b) The genitive is exclusively used if the relation between the nouns is one of definition, classification, etc., rather than possession
the men?s clothes, the doctor?s degree
tomorrow?s speech
c) The genitive is also used with nouns denoting time
d) There are a number of idiomatic combinations where the genitive is invariably used. e.g.
at arm?s length保持距离, in one?s mind?s eye想象，记忆, at one?s wit?s end智穷计尽, a
stone?s throw近在咫尺，一箭之地, at swords? points准备战斗, a hair?s breadth丝毫，稍稍, a bird?s-eye view鸟瞰 2) Of-phrase
(textbook P.96)
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a) The of-phrase is typically preferred with nouns referring to inanimate, lifeless objects e.g.
the color of the car, the importance of the plan
b) The of-phrase is required with a noun phrase whose head word is a classifying adjective e.g.
the experience of the old, the welfare of the poor
3) Genitive and of-phrase
a) Both the genitive and of-phrase can be used with geographical proper nouns and nouns referring to places, institutions, etc. e.g.
China?s foreign policy
the foreign policy of China
b) Collective nouns can also take both forms e.g.
the government?s attitude
the attitude of the government
d) The choice may be a matter of personal taste or attitude, or it may be accounted for in terms of environmental constraints such as modification and balance. e.g.
the students? opinions of their professor
the opinions of the students present at the meeting the poor peasants? childhood and their early life
e) however, when denoting the genre or the characteristics of a thing, we prefer genitive rather than of –phrase
e.g. children?s pictorial * pictorial of children men?s clothing * clothing of men 4) Group genitive词组格属
the group genitive is a term that refers to the genitive formed by adding –?s to the last element of a post-modified or coordinated noun phrase e.g.
an hour and a half?s test
someone else?s car
a week or so?s break
a) The group genitive normally does not work with a noun phrase that contains a post-modifying clause, finite, or non-finite. It would be more acceptable to use the of-phrase instead. e.g.
the car of the man I know
* the man I know?s car
the comments of the professor to consult * the professor to consult?s comments
b) The genitive should be replaced by the of-phrase if the noun phrase contains a long prepositional phrase that may cause ambiguity e.g.
the food of the man with the dog
* the man with the dog?s food
* the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island?s heir
5) Local genitive表地点的名词的属格
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Nouns used in the local genitive are invariably nouns referring to persons and denoting residence, public buildings, places where business is conducted, etc. a) Proper nouns for certain well-known buildings e.g.
St. Paul?s (Cathedral)
Guy?s (Hospital)
St. James?s (Palace)
b) Words for shops denoted by the type of shopkeeper e.g
the baker?s 面包店
the butcher?s肉店
the chemist?s药房
the barber?s理发店 the hairdresser?s理发店，美容店
c) Names and nouns referring to persons which denote residence e.g.
We are having dinner at my uncle?s tonight. (my uncle?s house) See you at Harry?s tomorrow.
6) Double genitive双重所有格
The double genitive, also referred to as the “post genitive”, is so called because it is a combination of the genitive and the of-phrase e.g.
a friend of my brother?s
some neighbors of my grandparents?
a) genitive the second noun in the double construction almost always refers to persons, never to objects e.g.
* a window of the house?s
* a page of the book?s
b) The first noun usually has indefinite reference (typically pre-modified by the indefinite article) and the second noun is always definte e.g.
a friend of my doctor?s
* the friend of the doctor?s
* a friend of a doctor?s
Exceptions to the rule are the cases where the first noun is pre-modified by a demonstrative or post-modified by a relative clause e.g.
that friend of my brother?s
the friend of Bob?s who was here last night
c) the demonstrative determiners can be used to show the speaker?s attitude e.g.
* a wife of John?s
that wife of John?s
under the following occasion, of-genitive and double genitive show quite different meanings. 1) a portrait of Mr Brown?s 由布朗先生画的或者收藏的肖像 2) a portrait of Mr Brown 一张布朗先生的肖像 3) a criticism of Mr Hamilton?s 一次批评 4) a criticism of Mr Hamilton 对…的一次批评
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part one
1. why is there ___ traffic on the streets in February than in May? A. less B. fewer C. few D. little
2.on account of the typhoon ___ shipment will arrive this week. .A. neither B. all C both .D. these 3. there is ___ water in the bottle
A. few B. a number of C. plenty of D. any 4. the model worker had ____ thought of his own interests. A. the last B. less C. the least D. another 5. the additional work will take ___ weeks
A. the other B. another five C. other five D. the more 6. he did it in ___ time it took me
A. the one-third B. half a C. the double D. one-third the 7. ____ friends usually speak highly of him.
A. His some B his many C. many his D. some his 8. ____factors should be considered
A.these alll B. such alll C. all such D. some these 9. he has been staying at home ___ days.
A. these all last few B. these last few all C. all these last few D. these last all few 10._____recommendation has so far been made by the technicians A. several such B. no such a C. such no D. no such
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