Possession · Transfer

Say It the Other Way

24 / 35

Convert the form, preserve the owner/whole and owned part, then judge naturalness.

the sergeant’s order

the order of the sergeant · Grammatically possible; ’s is more natural for a person.

the cover of the manual

the manual’s cover · Both work; “the cover of the manual” is common.

the pilot’s schedule

the schedule of the pilot · Both are grammatical; ’s is more natural for this person.

the handle of the tool

the tool’s handle · Both work; the of-form clearly presents a part–whole relation.

PRODUCE → COMPARE → EXPLAIN → CHECK

Slide 24

Tips

Say It the Other Way

  1. Cambiar entre ’s y of puede conservar el significado, pero no siempre conserva la naturalidad.
  2. Con una persona suele preferirse ’s: the sergeant’s order. Con una cosa puede sonar mejor of: the cover of the manual.
  3. Check: Did owner and owned head keep the same roles after the conversion? Naturalness comes after meaning.