Posessive or not?

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BIA

#113965 Thu, 30 Jun 05 05:49 PM

I have come over 2 variants of saying the same:

a two hour delay

a two hours' delay.

Which of the variants is more common (more correct)? Do I guess it right that the 1st is probably more colloquial? And BTW is it possible to omit the indefinite article before it?

BIA

Joined on Thu, Jun 30 2005

New Member (04)

pieanne

#113982 Thu, 30 Jun 05 06:25 PM

Hello, Bia, welcome to the Forums!

I think you need a hyphen in your first example: a two-hour delay.

I can't answer the second part of your question, sorry.

pieanne

Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005

South of France ...But I'm Belgian!

Veteran Member (7,512)

I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...

Hyphens

BIA

#113989 Thu, 30 Jun 05 06:42 PM

Pieanne, thanks for your comment, this must be true.

P.S. I'm sorry about the spelling mistake in the title...

BIA

Possessives, Spelling

davkett

#113992 Thu, 30 Jun 05 06:45 PM

I agree with pieanne on the hyphen.

The possessive in the second one is awfully strange to me. Where did you come across (not 'come over') that?

As for omitting the indefinite article: offer an example where you think it might be unnecessary.

davkett

Joined on Tue, Jun 7 2005

Pennsylvania, USA

Senior Member (2,788)

"The rose stays fresh in its name..." -Bernard of Morlay

Articles, Possessives, Indefinite Articles, Definite Articles, Hyphens

pieanne

#113997 Thu, 30 Jun 05 06:53 PM

Bia, in this case, it's not a spelling mistake, it's a typo! Smile [:)]

I think the possessive case can be used to express durations, lengths, ...

"a two hours' wait"

"a 100 miles' drive"

pieanne

Possessives, Spelling

davkett

#114008 Thu, 30 Jun 05 07:10 PM

Pieanne,

I stand corrected. I was thinking: how does time possess waitng, and how do miles possess driving, and how do hours possess delays.

Apparently, this kind of speculation does not apply.

davkett

pieanne

#114021 Thu, 30 Jun 05 07:22 PM

I'm afraid it's just a matter of grammar...

pieanne

Grammar

Teacher Eric

#114027 Thu, 30 Jun 05 07:45 PM

You do need a hyphen between 2 and hour.

(We have) a 2-hour delay.

"2-hour" functions as an adjective. It describes what kind of delay we have. So in this case the delay is 2 hours long.

More examples of this.

1. He ran the 100-meter dash at the athletic meet.

2. Cowboys like to wear 10-gallon hats.

3. A 10-foot pole is what I need.

Teacher Eric

Joined on Mon, Aug 16 2004

Full Member (171)

Manila-based ESL/ESP teacher with a TESOL. Hoping to get a "Pass" in the DELTA.

Hyphens

BIA

#114038 Thu, 30 Jun 05 08:19 PM

Davkett, thanks, that was a silly mistake("came over")!

Thank you all, it's clear to me about structures with a hyphen.

As for the other variant, possessive (or genitive?) is probably a wrong term. I came across these examples - ten minutes' break, an hour's drive etc. in A.J.Thomson's,A.V.Martinet's Practical English Grammar, which was first published in the 60's, so I thought they might be a bit outdated. I also saw similar structures before in some Russian English Coursebooks. So is this variant not used at all nowadays?

BIA

Grammar, Possessives, English Grammar, Genitives, Hyphens

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