注:其他代表无生命东西的名词,不宜加所有格词尾“'s”,
而应用of引出的短语来表示所有关系,如:不能说the book's cover或the tables'legs,只能说the cover of the book或the legs of the tables.在有些情况下可用更简单的形式,如book cover或table legs。
112 4.表示时间、距离、价值、重量:
时间:two years'time,three months'duration,(a)seven years'war,(a)three days'absence,his five minutes'walk,a moment's notice,a good night's rest,today's news,yesterday's lessons,last week's meeting,our next month's journey,the week's(or year's)end
距离:a cable's length,a stone's throw,a needle's point,a hand's span,a hair's breadth,the razor's edge,(a)thirty miles'march,(a)two hours'walk(or flight,drive,ride,sail)
价值:a dollar's worth(of apples),thirty pounds'value 重量:a pound's weight,two tons'weight 113 5.表示家、商店、机构,主体词常省略,如: 1)家(住处):
my uncle's,Mr.Eliot's,the shoe-maker's,Wang's,Schuman's 2)商店:
the grocer's,the tobacconist's,the carpenter's,the florist's,a large photographer's,a well-managed baker's,three grocers'(that are full of customers),Dr.Lee's,Robinson's(or Robinsons,Robinson Ltd.);Palmer's(or Palmer Company,Palmer's the book sellers),Wallis'(or Wallis,Wallis's—Name in-s has 3 forms)
3)机构:
St.Andrew's(Church),St.James's(Palace),St.Paul's(Cathedral),St.John's(College),Warner's(Cinema),St.Paul's(Hospital),St.Mary's(Abbey)(Institutions)
114 6.表示船只:
the ship's captain(or cook,doctor,cabin),the boat's crew(or head),the vessel's course(or departure)
115 7.在某些习用语中有名词所有格:
out of harm's way,in his mind's eye,to his heart's content(or desire,delight),for form's(or god's,mercy's,brevity's,pity's,shame's,art's,her)sake,his father's son(=he),everyone's mother's son(=everyone).
116 8.其他情况:
Mary's letter(=the letter FROM Mary)
Japan's history(=the history CONCERNING Japan) Justice's battle(=the battle FOR justice) Paris's painters(=the painters IN Paris) Queen's College(=the College CALLED Queen) Mary's party(=the party GIVEN by Mary) John's dinner(=the dinner ENJOYED by John)
Charles's defeat(=the defeat EXPERIENCED by Charles)
C.名词所有格后主体词所指东西
117 名词所有格后的主体词可以表示各种不同的东西: 1.人或某动物所有的东西:
the boy's pencil,John's workers,Uncle's dog,my sister'sold friend,the animal's master,the dog's wife
118 2.某人创造的东西或某动物制作的东西(某人或某动物由名词所有格表示,以下各节均如此):
Shaw's plays,Disney's film,Webster's dictionary,Shubert's serenade,Shakespeare's Hamlet,Dickens's David Copperfield,Charles Chaplain's City Lights,John's exercise,Mary's cakes,the printer's error,a bird's nest,bee's wax
119 3.某人使用的东西:
beginner's lessons,a judge's wig,ladies'dress,children's hospital,the women's weekly(比较a lunatic asylum,a cow house,a mouse trap) 120 4.某人或某动物具有的东西(如身体的一部分等),也可指某物的一部分:
John's face,my father's legs,the scientist's brain,the dog's eyes,goat's meat,the lion's heart
He is at his wit's(or life's,journey's)end.He has English at his fingers'ends(or tips).He lives near the town's end(or the water's edge,the wood's edge,the city's centre,the hill's foot,the river's head,the mountain's top,the river's mouth,the mountain's side).They are at sword's points.
121 5.某人或某动物的某个(些)特点或状态:
John's folly,Mary's kindness,my dog's ability,the pig's laziness,Lee's attitude,aunt's bad luck(所含主体词多由形容词演变而来,如folly由foolish变来,kindness由kind变来等等)
122 6.某人或某动物的动作(由名词或动名词表示):
John's appearance(or decision,statement,progress,death,
imagination,thought,arriving,jumping,sleeping)(主体词多由不及物动词转变而来,如appearance和decision分别由appear,decide变来)
123 7.某人或某动物承受的动作:
John killed Charles,and everyone worried about John's punishment(=the fact that John will be punished).
John's loss(or treatment,murder,praise,education)(主体词多由及物动词转变而来,如:loss,treatment分别由lose,treat转变而来)
Help及其同义词也可以这样用,表示“承受的动作”:
He came(or hurried,ran,rushed)to Mary's help(or aid,defence,assistance,rescue).
这类主体词也可表示某人或某动物的动作:
John says he must punish Charles,and we worry about John's punishment. 如果表示一个无生命东西承受的动作,前面只能用its或their,而不能用名词所有格:
I have delivered the money,and John has received it.Its delivery and its receipt(not:the money's receipt)was witnessed by three persons.
承受的动作也可用动名词的被动形式表示:
John's being punished(or being murdered,being praised)was true.
D.名词所有格的特指与类别的作用
124 如果所有格中的名词表示某一特定的人、动物和其他特定的东西,这个所有格即有特指的作用(Specifying):
my father's house,John's dog,London's population,yesterday's lessons(可以指出是“谁的”或“哪个的”)
如果表示某类人或东西,它就具有表类别的作用(Classifying): the doctor's degree,a fool's errand,printer's ink,the traveler's check,a driver's license,collector's items,Mother's Day,the bull's eye,a snail's pace,a cat's paw,death's door,sheep's eyes,their dog's life,a good night's rest(这时无法指出是“谁的”或“哪个的”)
特指的名词所有格和类别的名词所有格,其名词都可有复数形式: my parents friends,those children's habit,my relatives'houses;the prisoners'camp,a fools'paradise,her girls'school,the thieves'den,two thieves'dens
这两类名词所有格的重音有所不同:
特指的名词所有格 类别的名词所有格 Jóhn's dóg prínter's ink fáther's house dóctor's degree Lóndon's populátion búll's eye 125 特指的名词所有格不像类别的名词所有格那样和主体名词有 紧密的联系,类别的名词所有格常和其主体词构成一个词组。 在某些情况下,表类别的名词所有格和主体词由连字号(-)连
接起来,甚至写成一个字,有些甚至有特别的意思: craftsman tradeswoman salesman ratsbane
townsman coxcomb(虚荣的人) crow's-nest(船桅顶上的平台) cat's-paw(供别人使用的工具,爪牙) bull's-eye(靶心)
monk's-hood(一种植物的名称)
126 特指的名词所有格大多可由介词of引起的短语代替,而类别的名词所有格却大多不宜用of引起的短语代替:
her mother's friend=the friend of her mother the dog's legs=the legs of the dog
his thirty years'work=his work of thirty years the ten minutes'silence=the silence of ten minutes 但是:
her mother's heart(慈母心肠)不能用the heart of her mother代替;our dog's life(猪狗般的生活)也不能由the life of our dog代替;the doctor's degree(博士学位)也不宜由the degree of the doctor代替。
127 特指的名词所有格前的形容词(限定性或描绘性的)都修饰该名词所有格,而类别的名词所有格前的形容词,却修饰主体词,或者说,修饰由名词所有格和主体词构成的整个短语:
特指的名词所有格 主体词 this horse's eyes those animals strength a child's toys
several little girls' laughing and shouting