An English Grammar Part 11

Beside a pumice isle in _Baiae's_ bay.--Sh.e.l.lEY.

In these sentences the phrases are equivalent to _of the rocky isle [of] Scio_, and _in the bay [of] Baiae_, the possessive being really equivalent here to an appositional objective. It is a poetic expression, the equivalent phrase being used in prose.

(2) _Objective possessive_, as shown in the sentences,--

Ann Turner had taught her the secret before this last good lady had been hanged for _Sir Thomas Overbury's_ murder.--HAWTHORNE.

He pa.s.ses to-day in building an air castle for to-morrow, or in writing _yesterday's_ elegy.--THACKERAY

In these the possessives are equivalent to an objective after a verbal expression: as, _for murdering Sir Thomas Overbury_; _an elegy to commemorate yesterday_. For this reason the use of the possessive here is called objective.

(3) _Subjective possessive_, the most common of all; as,--

The unwearied sun, from day to day, Does his Creator's power display.

--ADDISON.

If this were expanded into _the power which his Creator possesses_, the word _Creator_ would be the subject of the verb: hence it is called a subjective possessive.

61. This last-named possessive expresses a variety of relations.

_Possession_ in some sense is the most common. The kind of relation may usually be found by expanding the possessive into an equivalent phrase: for example, "_Winter's_ rude tempests are gathering now"

(i.e., tempests that winter is likely to have); "His beard was of _several days'_ growth" (i.e., growth which several days had developed); "The _forest's_ leaping panther shall yield his spotted hide" (i.e., the panther which the forest hides); "Whoso sheddeth _man's_ blood" (blood that man possesses).

[Sidenote: _How the possessive is formed._]

62. As said before (Sec. 56), there are only two case forms. One is the simple form of a word, expressing the relations of nominative and objective; the other is formed by adding _'s_ to the simple form, making the possessive singular. To form the possessive plural, only the apostrophe is added if the plural nominative ends in _-s_; the _'s_ is added if the plural nominative does not end in _-s_.

Case Inflection.

[Sidenote: _Declension or inflection of nouns._]

63. The full declension of nouns is as follows:--

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

1. _Nom. and Obj._ lady ladies _Poss._ lady's ladies'

2. _Nom. and Obj._ child children _Poss._ child's children's

[Sidenote: _A suggestion._]

NOTE.--The difficulty that some students have in writing the possessive plural would be lessened if they would remember there are two steps to be taken:--

(1) Form the nominative plural according to Secs 39-53

(2) Follow the rule given in Sec. 62.

Special Remarks on the Possessive Case.

[Sidenote: _Origin of the possessive with its apostrophe._]

64. In Old English a large number of words had in the genitive case singular the ending _-es_; in Middle English still more words took this ending: for example, in Chaucer, "From every _schires_ ende,"

"Full worthi was he in his _lordes_ werre [war]," "at his _beddes_ syde," "_mannes_ herte [heart]," etc.

[Sidenote: _A false theory._]

By the end of the seventeenth century the present way of indicating the possessive had become general. The use of the apostrophe, however, was not then regarded as standing for the omitted vowel of the genitive (as _lord's_ for _lordes_): by a false theory the ending was thought to be a contraction of _his_, as schoolboys sometimes write, "George Jones _his_ book."

[Sidenote: _Use of the apostrophe._]

Though this opinion was untrue, the apostrophe has proved a great convenience, since otherwise words with a plural in _-s_ would have three forms alike. To the eye all the forms are now distinct, but to the ear all may be alike, and the connection must tell us what form is intended.

The use of the apostrophe in the plural also began in the seventeenth century, from thinking that _s_ was not a possessive sign, and from a desire to have distinct forms.

[Sidenote: _Sometimes_ s _is left out in the possessive singular._]

65. Occasionally the _s_ is dropped in the possessive singular if the word ends in a hissing sound and another hissing sound follows, but the apostrophe remains to mark the possessive; as, _for goodness'

sake, Cervantes' satirical work_.

In other cases the _s_ is seldom omitted. Notice these three examples from Thackeray's writings: "Harry ran upstairs to his _mistress's_ apartment;" "A postscript is added, as by the _countess's_ command;"

"I saw what the _governess's_ views were of the matter."

[Sidenote: _Possessive with compound expressions._]

66. In compound expressions, containing words in apposition, a word with a phrase, etc., the possessive sign is usually last, though instances are found with both appositional words marked.

Compare the following examples of literary usage:--

Do not the Miss Prys, my neighbors, know the amount of my income, the items of my _son's_, _Captain Sc.r.a.pegrace's_, tailor's bill--THACKERAY.

The world's pomp and power sits there on this hand: on that, stands up for G.o.d's truth one man, the _poor miner Hans Luther's_ son.--CARLYLE.

They invited me in the _emperor their master's_ name.--SWIFT.

I had naturally possessed myself of _Richardson the painter's_ thick octavo volumes of notes on the "Paradise Lost."--DE QUINCEY.

They will go to Sunday schools to teach cla.s.ses of little children the age of Methuselah or the dimensions of _Og the king of Bashan's_ bedstead.--HOLMES.

More common still is the practice of turning the possessive into an equivalent phrase; as, _in the name of the emperor their master_, instead of _the emperor their master's name_.

[Sidenote: _Possessive and no noun limited._]