We normally use -'s for people or animals (the girl's.../the horse's... etc.):
the girl's name the horse's tail Mr Evans's daughter a woman's hat the manager's office Sarah's eyes
* Where is the manager's office? (not 'the office of the manager')
* What colour are Sarah's eyes? (not 'the eyes of Sarah')
Note that you can use -'s without a following noun:
* This isn't my book. It's my brother's. (= my brother's book)
We do not always use -'s for people. For example, we would use of... in this sentence:
* What is the name of the man who lent us the money? ('the man who lent us the money' is too long to be followed by -'s)
Note that we say a woman's hat (= a hat for a woman), a boy's name (= a name for a boy), a bird's egg (= an egg laid by a bird) etc.
For things, ideas etc. we normally use of ( ... of the book/... of the restaurant etc.):
the door of the garage (not 'the garage's door')
the name of the book the owner of the restaurant
Sometimes you can use the structure noun + noun:
the garage door the restaurant owner
We normally use of (not noun + noun ) with the beginning/end/top/bottom/front/back middle/side etc. So we say:
the back of the car (not 'the car back') the beginning of the month
You can usually use -'s or of... for an organization (= a group of people). So you can say:
the government's decision or the decision of the government
the company's success or the success of the company
It is also possible to use -'s for places. So you can say:
the city's new theatre the world's population Italy's largest city
After a singular noun we use -'s:
my sister's room (= her room--one sister) Mr Carter's house
After a plural noun (sisters, friends etc.) we put ' (an apostrophe) after the s (s'):
my sisters' room (= their room--two or more sisters)
the Carters' house (Mr and Mrs Carter)
If a plural noun does not end in -s (for example, men/women/children/people) we use -s:
the men's changing room a children's book (= a book for children)
Note that you can use -'s after more than one noun:
Jack and Jill's wedding Mr and Mrs Carter's house
You can also use -'s with time expressions (yesterday/next week etc.)
* Have you still got yesterday's newspaper?
* Next week's meeting has been cancelled.
In the same way, you can say today's .../tomorrow's .../this evening's ... Monday's ... etc.
We also use -'s (or -s' with plural words) with periods of time:
* I've got a week's holiday starting on Monday.
* Jill has got three weeks' holiday.
* I live near the station - it's only about ten minutes' walk.
Compare this structure with 'a three-hour journey', 'a ten-minute walk' etc.
EXERCISES
80.1 Join the two (or three) nouns. Sometimes you have to use -'s or -s'; and sometimes you have to use ... of ...
1. the owner/that car _the owner of that car_
2. the mother/Ann _Ann's mother_
3. the jacket/that man ---
4. the top/the page ---
5. the daughter/Charles ---
6. the cause/the problem ---
7. the newspaper/yesterday ---
8. the birthday/my father ---
9. the name/this street ---
10. the toys/the children ---
11. the new manager/the company ---
12. the result/the football match ---
13. the garden/our neighbours ---
14. the ground floor/the building ---
15. the children/Don and Mary ---
16. the economic policy/the government ---
17. the husband/Catherine ---
18. the husband/the woman-talking to Mary ---
19. the car/the parents/Mike ---
20. the wedding/the friend I Helen ---
80.2 What is another way of saying these things? Use -'s.
1. a hat for a woman _a woman's hat_
2. a name for a boy ---
3. clothes for children ---
4. a school for girls ---
5. a nest for a bird ---
6. a magazine for women ---
80.3 Read each sentence and write a new sentence beginning with the underline words.
1. The meeting _tomorrow_ has been cancelled.
Tomorrow's meeting has been cancelled._
2. The storm _last week_ caused a lot of damage.
Last ---
3. The only cinema in _the town_ has closed down.
The ---
4. Exports from _Britain_ to the United States have fallen recently.
5. Tourism is the main industry in _the region._
80.4 Use the information given to complete the sentences.
1. If I leave my house at 9 o'clock and drive to London, I arrive at about 12.
So it's about _three hours' drive_ to London from my house. (drive)
2. If I leave my house at 8.S5 and walk-to the station, I get there at 9 o'clock.
So it's only --- from my house to the station. (walk)
3. I'm going on holiday on the 12th. I have to be back at work on the 26th.
So I've got --- (holiday)
4. I went to sleep at 3 o'clock this morning and woke up an hour later. After that I couldn't sleep. So last night I only had --- (sleep)
80.1
3 that man's jacket
4 the top of the page
5 Charles's daughter
6 The cause of the problem
7 yesterday's newspaper
8 my father's newspaper
9 the name of this street
10 the children's toys
11 the new manager of the company or the company's new manager
12 the result of the football match
13 our neighbour's garden
14 the ground floor of the building
15 Don and Mary's children
16 the economic policy of the government or the government's economic policy
17 Catherine's husband
18 the husband of the woman talking to Mary
19 Mike's parents' car
20 Helen's friend's wedding
80.2
2 a boy's name
3 children's school
4 a girls' school
5 a women's magazine
80.3
2 Last week's storm caused a lot of damage.
3 The town;s only cinema has closed down.
4 Britain's exports to the United States have fallen recently.
5 The region's main industry is tourism.
80.4
2 five minutes' walk or a five-minute walk
3 two weeks' holiday or a two-week holiday
4 an hour's sleep
