Collins Cobuild English Grammar (28 page)

However, when you are describing an action that someone does to a part of someone else’s body, you often use the definite article (
the
), especially when the body part is the object of a preposition and when the object of the verb is a pronoun. For example, if you say
She hit me on the head
,
head
is the object of the preposition
on
and
me
is the object of the verb
hit
.

I
patted him on the head
.
He
took her by the arm
and began drawing her away.

You use the definite article because the
owner
of the body part has already been identified, and you do not need to repeat this information.

Similarly, if the object of the verb is a
reflexive pronoun
such as
myself
,
yourself
, and so on, you use the definite article. This is because the reflexive pronoun already refers to you or to the person who is doing the action, so you do not need to repeat this information by using a possessive determiner.

I accidentally
hit myself on the head
with the brush handle.
We can
pat ourselves on the back
for bringing up our children.

Uses of reflexive pronouns are explained in paragraphs
1.111
to
1.118
.

1.206
  If you want to describe something that you do to yourself or that someone else does to themselves, you normally use a possessive determiner.

She was brushing
her hair
.
‘I’m going to
brush my teeth,’ he said
.
She
gritted her teeth
and carried on.
He walked into the kitchen and
shook his head
.

BE CAREFUL

1.207
  You usually use possessive determiners when you refer to people or animals. You do not usually use them to refer to things that are not alive. It is, for example, more usual to say
the door
or
the door of the room
than
its door
.

generic use

1.208
  Possessive determiners are sometimes used to talk about things that belong to or are associated with people in general, in a similar way to generic pronouns. For more information on
generic pronouns
, see paragraphs
1.119
to
1.123
.

Your
can be used when you are talking about something that belongs to or is associated with people in general, or with a person in a situation that you are imagining.

Can eating a low-fat diet weaken 
your
 hair?
Going to the gym is good for
your
general health.
Part of the process involves discussing
your
decision with a career counsellor.

In more formal English,
one’s
is sometimes used instead of
your
.

A satisfying job can bring structure and meaning to
one’s
 life.

Our
can be used to talk about all of mankind or society.

Being a child is not easy in
our
society.

Their
can be used to refer to a person when you do not know, or do not want to specify, whether that person is male or female.

The most important asset a person has is
their
ability to work.
Each winner received a plaque with
their
award title.

other possessives

1.209
  There are other ways of showing that something is owned by or connected with someone or something else. For example, you can use
’s
(apostrophe
s
) or a prepositional phrase beginning with
of
.

Mary’s daughter
is called Elizabeth.
Very often the person appointed has
no knowledge of that company’s end product
.
…
the house of a rich banker
in Paris.
In
the opinion of the team
, what would they consider to be absolutely necessary?

possessive determiners used in titles

1.210
  Possessive determiners are also sometimes used in titles such as
Your Majesty
and
His Excellency
. This use is explained in paragraph
1.56
.

The possessive form: apostrophe
s
(
’s
)

1.211
  You usually show that something belongs to or is associated with a specific, named person by adding
’s
to the name of the person, and by placing this possessive form in front of the thing that belongs to them, or is associated with them. For example, if John owns a motorbike, you can refer to it as ‘John’s motorbike’.

Sylvia put her hand on
John’s
arm.
…the main features of
Mr Brown’s
economic policy.

When you use a noun rather than a name to refer to the person, the noun phrase containing the possessive form also contains a determiner in the usual way.

…
his grandmother’s
house.
Your mother’s
best handbag.

Note that the determiner applies to the possessive form and not to the noun that is being modified by the possessive.

spelling and pronunciation

1.212
  The spelling and pronunciation patterns used to form possessives change according to the spelling and pronunciation of the name or noun. These are explained in the Reference Section.

other uses of
’s

1.213
  Note that in addition to being the possessive form, the pattern
’s
can also be added to words as a contraction of
is
or
has
. This is explained in the Reference Section.

showing close connection

1.214
  Apostrophe
s
(
’s
) is most often added to a noun referring to a person or an animal.

I wore a pair of my
sister’s
boots.
Philip watched his
friend’s
reaction.
Billy patted the
dog’s
head.

It can also be used to show that something belongs to or is associated with a group of people or an institution.

She runs the foreign exchange desk for the
bank’s
corporate clients.
They also prepare the
university’s
budget.
…the
paper’s
political editor, Mr Fred Emery.
There was a raid on the
Democratic Party’s
headquarters.
What is your
government’s
policy?

1.215
  Apostrophe
s
(
’s
) is sometimes added to a noun referring to an object when specifying a part of it or a quality or feature that it has.

I like the
car’s
design.
You can predict a
computer’s
behaviour because it follows rules.

Apostrophe
s
(
’s
) is used after nouns and names referring to places to specify something in that place.

He is the administrative head of the
country’s
biggest city.
The
city’s
population is in decline.
…
Britain’s
most famous company.

1.216
  If you want to emphasize that something belongs or relates to a particular person and nobody else, you use
own
.
Own
can be used after the possessive form of a name or noun, as well as after a possessive determiner.

Professor Wilson’s own
answer may be unacceptable.
We must depend on
David’s own
assessment.

If you are specifying a number of things, you put the number after
own
.

…the Doctor’s
own two
rooms.

other structures

1.217
  When you are talking about two things of the same type that belong to different people you can use the possessive form of a name or noun like a possessive pronoun so that you can avoid repeating the thing itself. In the first example below,
her brother’s
is used instead of
her brother’s appearance
.

Her appearance is very different to
her brother’s
.
My room is next to
Karen’s
.
It is your responsibility rather than
your parents
’.

The possessive form can also be used on its own to refer to someone’s home or place of work.

He’s round at
David’s
.
She stopped off at the
butcher’s
for a piece of steak.
She hasn’t been back to the
doctor’s
since.

Possessive pronouns
are explained in paragraphs
1.107
to
1.110
.

used in prepositional phrases with
of

1.218
  The possessive form can be used in a prepositional phrase beginning with
of
after a noun phrase. You use this structure when you are talking about one of a number of things that belong to someone or are associated with them, rather than about something unique.

Julia, a friend
of Jenny’s
, was there too.
That word was a favourite
of your father’s
.

USAGE NOTE