The oblique genitive in English
-
John Payne
Abstract
The English oblique genitive construction, illustrated by examples such as a friend of the Prime Minister’s, has variously been analysed as a conditioned variant of the subject-determiner construction (the Prime Minister’s friend), as a conditioned variant of the of-oblique (a friend of the Prime Minister), or as an equivalent of the partitive (one of the Prime Minister’s friends). Alternatively, the oblique genitive has also been treated as an independent construction which in different ways competes with the rest. In this paper, using both the British National Corpus and web-based examples, we examine the extent of variation permitted by the oblique genitive, and conclude that its treatment as an independent construction is the correct one.
Abstract
The English oblique genitive construction, illustrated by examples such as a friend of the Prime Minister’s, has variously been analysed as a conditioned variant of the subject-determiner construction (the Prime Minister’s friend), as a conditioned variant of the of-oblique (a friend of the Prime Minister), or as an equivalent of the partitive (one of the Prime Minister’s friends). Alternatively, the oblique genitive has also been treated as an independent construction which in different ways competes with the rest. In this paper, using both the British National Corpus and web-based examples, we examine the extent of variation permitted by the oblique genitive, and conclude that its treatment as an independent construction is the correct one.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Dealing with postmodified possessors in early English 1
- Variation in the form and function of the possessive morpheme in Late Middle and Early Modern English 35
- The great regression 59
- Nominal categories and the expression of possession 89
- Expression of possession in English 123
- A cognitive analysis of John’s hat 149
- The oblique genitive in English 177
- The marker of the English “Group Genitive” is a special clitic, not an inflection 193
- Two prenominal possessors in West Flemish 219
- A Mozart sonata and the Palme murder 253
- Possessive clitics and ezafe in Urdu 291
- References 323
- Index 339
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Dealing with postmodified possessors in early English 1
- Variation in the form and function of the possessive morpheme in Late Middle and Early Modern English 35
- The great regression 59
- Nominal categories and the expression of possession 89
- Expression of possession in English 123
- A cognitive analysis of John’s hat 149
- The oblique genitive in English 177
- The marker of the English “Group Genitive” is a special clitic, not an inflection 193
- Two prenominal possessors in West Flemish 219
- A Mozart sonata and the Palme murder 253
- Possessive clitics and ezafe in Urdu 291
- References 323
- Index 339
