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A grammar question

 
 
Reply Wed 3 May, 2017 10:29 am
There is a sentence saying ' Is the bedroom's window open? '. I couldn't see any mistakes. Are there any? It was about the possessive case. What's wrong in this sentence ?
 
View best answer, chosen by cockroach7
tibbleinparadise
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 May, 2017 10:45 am
@cockroach7,
The windows aren't a possession of the bedroom, the bedroom is just a room. "The bedroom window is open" or " The window in the bedroom is open". Things can't have possessions.
cockroach7
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 May, 2017 10:50 am
@tibbleinparadise,
Thank you for the help! At first i thought it like the way i did in my native language that was why i mistaken.
0 Replies
 
centrox
  Selected Answer
 
  3  
Reply Wed 3 May, 2017 11:09 am
@tibbleinparadise,
tibbleinparadise wrote:
Things can't have possessions.

Strongly disagree. Check any number of grammar sources. In conversation or informal language we can dispense with possessives for things e.g. rooms in houses - e.g. the bathroom window, the bedroom door, the kitchen floor etc. The car engine. However it is not wrong to use the possessive, just more formal. The ship's bottom. The car's price. The road's width. Sometimes it is even better.

I know that many writers consider it bad form to use apostrophe -s possessives with pieces of furniture and buildings or inanimate objects in general. Instead of "the desk's edge" (according to many authorities), we should write "the edge of the desk" and instead of "the hotel's windows" we should write "the windows of the hotel." In fact, we would probably avoid the possessive altogether and use the noun as an attributive: "the hotel windows." This rule (if, in fact, it is one) is no longer universally endorsed. We would not say "the radio of that car" instead of "that car's radio" (or the "car radio") and we would not write "the desire of my heart" instead of "my heart's desire." Writing "the edge of the ski" would probably be an improvement over "the ski's edge," however.

For expressions of time and measurement, the possessive is shown with an apostrophe -s: "one dollar's worth," "two dollars' worth," "a hard day's night," "two years' experience," "an evening's entertainment," and "two weeks' notice" (the title of the Hollywood movie nothwithstanding).
tibbleinparadise
 
  -1  
Reply Wed 3 May, 2017 11:25 am
@centrox,
If you're going to copy/paste off a website, at least give credit to the source.
centrox
 
  2  
Reply Wed 3 May, 2017 11:27 am
@tibbleinparadise,
tibbleinparadise wrote:

If you're going to copy/paste off a website, at least give credit to the source.

Good point. The first para I wrote myself. The rest is from

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/possessives.htm

tibbleinparadise
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 May, 2017 11:36 am
@centrox,
And apologies for the "tone" of that response. I suppose my college professors and their love of citations are wearing off on me.

I will concede that there is no hard and fast rule, but I do feel that, generally speaking, it is bad form to construct a sentence so that an object is given possession of something.
centrox
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 May, 2017 12:48 pm
No need to apologise for encouraging best practice.
0 Replies
 
PUNKEY
 
  2  
Reply Fri 5 May, 2017 10:24 am
Bedroom is an adjective in your sentence and tells what kind. You can say The bathroom window, the gym window, etc. No need for Possessive for this simple adjective.

However, when asking "Is the Smith's party this weekend?" Then you do use the possessive because the adjective now answers "whose" party
camlok
 
  0  
Reply Fri 26 May, 2017 01:47 pm
@tibbleinparadise,
Quote:
I will concede that there is no hard and fast rule, but I do feel that, generally speaking, it is bad form to construct a sentence so that an object is given possession of something.


That is exactly the point though, tibbleinP, there is a hard and fast rule, as described by Centrox. Even when longstanding rules of English are pointed out to people they still try to deny them.
0 Replies
 
newmoonnewmoon
 
  -2  
Reply Fri 26 May, 2017 03:19 pm
@cockroach7,
The sentence is incorrect. I know it is but I dont know why. Or maybe i do know why but i just dont care to think about explaining. I dont know.
camlok
 
  2  
Reply Fri 26 May, 2017 06:18 pm
@newmoonnewmoon,
You must have larn'd English from Strunk and White.
0 Replies
 
ekename
 
  1  
Reply Sat 27 May, 2017 12:35 am
0 Replies
 
roger
 
  3  
Reply Sat 27 May, 2017 12:50 am
@PUNKEY,
PUNKEY wrote:

However, when asking "Is the Smith's party this weekend?" Then you do use the possessive because the adjective now answers "whose" party


Wouldn't that be "Is the Smiths' party this weekend?"
centrox
 
  2  
Reply Sat 27 May, 2017 01:04 am
@roger,
roger wrote:

PUNKEY wrote:

However, when asking "Is the Smith's party this weekend?" Then you do use the possessive because the adjective now answers "whose" party


Wouldn't that be "Is the Smiths' party this weekend?"

Yes it would.
0 Replies
 
 

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