(= exclamation of exasperation). It shows a relationship of belonging between one thing and another. They are used less often than short-form possessive adjectives, but you should still know them. Note in the first case possessive is used, but not in the second. I had to look this up the first time someone asked.For many years, before I became Grammar Girl and had to answer people's questions, I simply rewrote sentences to avoid having to figure this one … To form the possessive, add apostrophe + s to the noun. Also, by tradition we write: for appearance’ (righteousness’, etc.) (“Holds” is the same form of “to hold” that would be used with the singular pronouns “he”, “she”, or “it”.) Let’s take a look at some of the various approaches for this possessive. Because a government may have many employees, ministers, etc., but it is seen as containing these people. (same book) Jack and Jill's house is nearby. Cool Computer Systems's clothes. Where there is a group which represents individuals (e.g. For example, "The company found its niche market." Another way to think about the difference: The words “the office” or “our office” may refer to a group of employees who share a common workplace and, together, constitute an entity known as “the office”. When indicating the possessive, if there is more than one owner add an apostrophe to the plural; if there is one owner, add 's to the singular (The Smiths' car vs. Smith's car). For example, there is an Australian Workers' Union and Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. Possessive is commonly used here. Examples include “the duck’s quack,” “the girl’s doll,” and “the man’s son.” The same reflexive forms also are used as intensive pronouns (for example, She made the dress herself). Since that night nothing of such prominence has happened in our house that would warrant extreme worry. Possessive definition, jealously opposed to the personal independence of, or to any influence other than one's own upon, a child, spouse, etc. . 1. Today we're going to decide whether companies are people or things; in other words, whether you use the relative pronoun who or that when referring to an entity like a company or board of directors. Here, it wouldn’t make sense to say “hospital staff is required to wear uniforms.” Were we use to this phraseology, we would be suggesting that the group “hospital staff”, as a whole and as an abstract, single entity, is required to wear uniforms. What factors are not distinguishable for Florida business entity names? Possessive pronouns (mine, ours, etc.) Huddleston and Pullum's book is about English grammar. “The government” is an entity (a “thing”) that requires singular verb forms and singular possessive pronouns. If the noun is plural, or already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s. If the noun is plural, or already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s. I had to look this up the first time someone asked.For many years, before I became Grammar Girl and had to answer people's questions, I simply rewrote sentences to avoid having to figure this one … You just add the apostrophe + s for singular and only the apostrophe for plural. Form the possessives of biblical terms ending in ‑s by adding an apostrophe: Jesus’ disciples; Moses’ followers. worker) that have standard pluralization (workers), there is more variation. You might think that because the people define the entities (there would be no governments or companies without their employees) that the entities should be used with plural verbs and pronouns. But watch out! A few months ago (November) I was viciously attacked by an entity which I've posted already on YGS (The Night Strangler). 'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is the most common relationship the possessive expresses. The possessive can also express where someone works, studies or spends time. punctuation apostrophe acronyms initialisms. The possessive form looks like this: • The dog belonging to the boy shed hair on the floor. Why not plural verbs or pronouns? To form the possessive, add apostrophe + s to the noun. If the noun is plural, or already ends in s, just add an apostrophe after the s. For names ending in s, you can either add an apostrophe + s, or just an apostrophe. "This book helps you understand what entity possession is, the various forms it takes . Single entities require verbs in singular tenses. In many other languages, possession is shown by using the word "of." worker) that have standard pluralization (workers), there is more variation. The mismatch holds, even though “our office” consists of multiple people. The phrasing “hospital staff are” is incorrect because “are” is the present plural form of the verb “to be”. Why not plural verbs or pronouns? More is involved, however. I recommend against this form… 5. possessives. In the latter example, we’re speaking of “hospital staff” as a single entity – a “body” (or group) of people that includes physicians and nurses. The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. Because a government may have many employees, ministers, etc., but it is seen as containing these people. You know already that it's company (singular) and companies (plural). Also consider, “Our office goes out to lunch every Tuesday.” It would not be correct to say, “Our office hold an annual party” or “Our office go out to lunch every Tuesday.” Here, “hold” and “go” (plural forms of the verbs “to hold” and “to go”, respectively) do not “match” the singular noun “our office”. In some cases, the possessive individual’s goal is to make you feel worthless and incapable of finding another relationship by damaging your self-esteem. “Hospital staff are required” implies individual hospital staff members. companies, governments) that contain a lot of people. Such people, in essence, “belong” to their governments, much as athletes “belong” to sports teams. It shows a relationship of belonging between one thing and another. Add -es for names ending in "s" or "z" and add -s for everything else. Cite it. ― New Living, October 2001 “This is a fascinating exploration of a little known but important aspect of the afterlife and our relationship to it. ... or other business entity may continue using such name until the limited liability company dissolves or amends its name in the records of the department. If the possessive involves a … It shows a relationship of belonging between one thing and another. Add -es for names ending in "s" or "z" and add -s for everything else. The possessive pronouns are my, our, your, his, her, its, and their.There’s also an “independent” form of each of these pronouns: mine, ours, yours, his, hers, its, and theirs.Possessive pronouns are never spelled with apostrophes. But a simpler, more common and concise way, is to change the noun that does the possessing: • The boy’s dog shed hair on the floor. To form the possessive, add apostrophe + s to the noun. Thus, the possessive form should be written: The Emperor's clothes. The name as a whole should be handled as a singular entity, because the company is, in fact, a single, legal entity. The singular, plural, or possessive form of a word. This can include strict ownership, or a number of other types of relation to a greater or lesser degree analogous to it.. Closely linked nouns are considered a single unit in forming the possessive when the entity "possessed" is the same for both; only the second element takes the possessive form. The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. = They are, For God's sake! Names are pluralized like regular words. The shoes of the man (The man owns the shoes.) It is a very broad generalisation, and there are lots of excep­tions. the Smiths's house (or the Smiths' house), America has some gold reserves. This can be tricky, especially when the nouns in question refer to entities (e.g. Sources disagree on whether the possessive form of a city-state or city-country combination, in which the closing comma is omitted, is valid. This might take the form of name-calling, rudeness, sarcasm or critical remarks. 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