所有格的形成
所有格與名詞連用，即表示一個物體與另一物體的從屬關系。如要形成所有格，則在名詞字尾加「's」即可。如果名詞為複數，或字尾是 s，就只要在字尾後加撇號即可。
舉例
- the car of John = John's car
- the room of the girls = the girls' room
- clothes for men = men's clothes
- the boat of the sailors = the sailors' boat
對於以 s 結尾的名字，可以選擇在字尾加撇號和 s，或只加一個撇號，前者較為常用。在所有格的名字上，我們會在名字的尾音加上 /z/ 音。
舉例
- Thomas's book (或 Thomas' book)
- James's shop (或 James' shop)
- the Smiths's house (或 the Smiths' house)
所有格的作用
所有格最常表達的關係是「屬於」或「擁有」。
舉例
- John owns a car. = It is John's car.
- America has some gold reserves. = They are America's gold reserves.
所有格也可以表達某人工作、讀書或消磨時間的地方。
舉例
- John goes to this school. = This is John's school.
- John sleeps in this room. = This is John's room.
所有格可以表達兩人之間的關係。
舉例
- John's mother is running late.
- Mrs Brown's colleague will not be coming to the meeting.
所有格也可以用於表達無形的事物。
舉例
- John's patience is running out.
- The politician's hypocrisy was deeply shocking.
固定表達方式
有幾種固定表達方式會用所有格。
帶有時間的例子
- a day's work
- a month's pay
- today's newspaper
- in a year's time
其他例子
- For God's sake!（= 惱怒的驚嘆詞）
- a stone's throw away（= 非常近）
- at death's door（= 病得很重）
- in my mind's eye（= 就我的想像）
也可用職稱或人名的所有格來表達某人創立的店家、餐廳、教堂和大學等機構。
舉例
- Shall we go to Luigi's for lunch?
- I've got an appointment at the dentist's at eleven o'clock.
- Is Saint Mary's an all-girls school?
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