Worksheet 8 --Genitive (´s, s´, ..of..) -- possessive case

   

   1. People v. things -- can the underlined words take the ´s genitive or not?

   

       1. Jane / house - ______________________

       2. book / title - _______________________

       3. film / director - _____________________

       4. my brother / wife - ___________________

       5. boy / name -________________________

       6. girls / school - _______________________

       7. children / parents -_____________________

       8. problem / cause - _____________________

       9. page / top - _________________________

      10. street / name - ______________________

      11. men / work - _______________________

      12. waitress / job - ______________________

      13. car / key - _________________________

   

   

   2. The ´s genitive can be used not only with names (people) but also other expressions --

        animals, geographical expressions, time expressions. Are the following phrases right or
   not?

       

       1.  the office of the teacher

       2.  children's shoes

       3.  the world's population

       4.  Britain's scientists

       5.  the letter's top

       6.  the dog's kennel

       7.  the club's owner

       8.  the company's director

       9.  yesterday's news

       10. next week's meeting

       11. the horses' stable

       12. a table's leg

       13. the book's cover

       14. the twins' mother

       15. a man's voice

       16. my sister-in-law's father

       17. the boss's secretary

       18. Charles's address

       19. (I'm staying) at my aunt's

       20.  China's policy

      

   3. Compare the following phrases -- all of them are correct, but not always they mean the same:

   

       a) Jack and Jane's children

           Jack's and Jane's children

   

      b)  a ten-minute walk

           ten minutes' walk

       c) Mike's brother's friends

           Mike's brothers' friends

   

       d) John's sister

           a sister of John's

           one of John's sisters

   

       e) Jane's husband

           that husband of Jane's

   

   

   4. Periods of time -- use the 's genitive:

   

       1. two weeks / holiday - ________________________________________________

       2. a month / illness - ___________________________________________________

       3.  five hours / journey - ________________________________________________

       4.  three days / business trip - ____________________________________________

       5.  a month / salary - ___________________________________________________

   

   5. Are the following phrases correct?

   

      1. America's policy

      2. New York's tallest skyscraper

      3. the earth's surface

      4. a day's work

      5. the army's advance

      6. an actress's career

      7.  someone's responsibility

      8.  (be) at the dentist's