Everything about S totally explained
"
Saxon genitive" is the traditional term used for the
’s (
apostrophe-s) word-ending in the
English language. The term is now infrequently used by linguists who argue that
’s represents a
possessive case, not a
genitive. For further information about usage, see
apostrophe.
In older English there are examples of it being spelt as "his" as a
folk etymology, for example "St. James his park", see
his genitive.
The English possessive
Modern English forms the Saxon genitive as follows:
| |
Regular noun
not ending in "s" |
Regular noun
ending in "s" |
Irregular noun |
| Singular | -’s (for example cat's ) |
-’s (for example class's ) |
-’s (for example child's, ox's, mouse's )
|
| Plural | -s' (for example cats' ) |
-es' (for example classes' ) |
-ren’s (children's )
-en's (for example oxen's )
-'s (for example mice's )
|
Traditionally, many writers added only an apostrophe for the singular possessive of a noun ending in "s", and this habit is still widespread especially with Biblical names (for example
Jesus'). This is now often erroneously considered nonstandard although it was originally essentially the norm (even in formal writing). Some respected style guides such as the Chicago Manual of Style recommend the more modern addition of an
s but specifically state that both habits are correct.
With the exception of
one's, pronouns don't combine with
’s to form possessives; a range of
possessive pronouns used instead, for example
his and
its. It is incorrect to spell these with an apostrophe although this error is widespread.
It's always means
it is.
In
Old English, nouns
declined according to
grammatical gender. The modern Saxon genitive is derived from the strong masculine and neuter genitive case of Old English. The plural forms are a relatively modern innovation, and are not derived directly from Old English.
| Gender |
Singular |
Plural |
| Strong masculine | -es |
-a
|
| Weak masculine | -an |
-ena
|
| Strong feminine | -e |
-a
|
| Weak feminine | -an |
-ena
|
| Strong neuter | -es |
-a
|
| Weak neuter | -an |
-ena
|
The term "Saxon genitive" is in analogy to the genitive in classical
Latin.
Many contend that
’s now functions as a
clitic rather than a case
ending: it gets separated from its noun in modern usages such as "the King of Spain’s hat", which in theory is ambiguous between "the hat of the King of Spain" (intended meaning) or "the King of the hat of Spain". (Older usage had "the king’s hat of Spain" or, rarely, "Spain's king's hat"; an example in literature is "The King's daughter of
Noroway" in
The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens.)
Further Information
Get more info on 'S'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://saxon_genitive.totallyexplained.com">Saxon genitive Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
