16 Double Genitive
Nouns
The Possessive form is used to talk about things that belong to a person, object or animal. We can even use it to show that one thing belongs to another thing.
The Double Genitive occurs when we find two possessives together in the same sentence.
We add preposition “of” before a noun which also takes aposthrope and -s (‘s). If we have a possessive pronoun after preposition “of” we do not add ‘s.
The Double Genitive has this structure:
Subject + verb + (object) + possessive (of) + noun + possessive (‘s);
Subject + verb + (object) + possessive (of) + possessive pronoun.
- This is a cousin of George‘s.
- Winnie-the-Pooh is a friend of Piglet‘s.
- It’s the password of Mark’s.
- Postman is a neighbour of mine.
- This is the SIM card of hers.
- It is the keyboard of them.
We use Double Genitives to put emphasis or to clarify things. By using this structure we show that we are “extra” possessive.
We use the Possessive to talk about things that belong to a person or animal, or even to show that one thing belongs to another thing. When two possessives appear in the same sentence, we call this Double Genitive.
The Double Genitive has the following structure:
Subject + verb + (object) + possessive (of) + noun + possessive (‘s) (e.g. a friend of Miriana’s).
For example:
— “Alfonso is a friend of Miriana’s.” = There are two possessives in this sentence: of and ‘s. Therefore we call this structure the Double Genitive.
— “This is the password of him.” = When there is a possessive pronoun (e.g. him), we do not add the second possessive.
Let’s revise this content within the [Form] section. Take a look at the [Example] section that shows its use within a context.