Possession

Two Ways to Show Belonging

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Owner + ’s + owned thing

the soldier’s rifle · Gabriel’s class

Owned thing + of + owner

the end of the mission · the cover of the book

Usually ’s

people, animals, organizations

Usually of

things, ideas, abstract concepts

Either can work

the company’s policy · the policy of the company

Meaning comes first: identify the owner and the owned thing before choosing the form.

“Of” se parece a “de”; la estructura ’s es nueva.

Slide 21

Tips

Two Ways to Show Belonging

  1. Primero identifica owner y owned thing. “El rifle del soldado” invierte el orden con ’s: “the soldier’s rifle.”
  2. ’S suele sonar natural con personas, animales y organizaciones; of suele preferirse con cosas e ideas.
  3. No traduzcas de automáticamente como of: el significado y la naturalidad deciden la estructura.