investors fund/investors' funds/investors funds/investor funds

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Zwqing  #485316  Wed, 05 Mar 08 03:47 PM

Hi. Can you clarify for me what each phrase means? Are they all correct? Do we only use apostrophe for humans not on animal and plants? If possible please treat 3 questions separately. Thanks in adv. as always!

  
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Mister Micawber  #485585  Thu, 06 Mar 08 10:24 AM
 .

The nature of the organism does not apply here; that is a question for the use of the 's genitive vs the of-genitive (the girl's feet vs the feet of the table)

205,000 for "investor funds"

209,000 for "investors funds"

209,000 for "investors' funds".

6,230 for "investor's funds"

Obviously, Ms Google does not discriminate between "-rs" and "-rs' "... and probably confuses the other premutations somewhat as well.  The fourth option should be reserved when speaking of a single investor, but I think that the other 3 options are all valid for general purposes.

Investor funds-- investor is an adjective describing the funds

Investors funds-- as above, but plural (which is not the usual way we do it:  it's shoe store, not shoes store.. but on the other hand sportswear)

Investors' funds-- the funds belong to the investors. 

  
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Marius Hancu  #485587  Thu, 06 Mar 08 10:30 AM
My feeling is that only

investor funds

is correct, the other are confused variations with the same meaning, except for 

investor's funds

which may indicate that the funds belong to the investors, but not necessarily, with the current state in grammar ... the writer may not have known what he really wanted to say ...

 

  
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