Uncountable noun - genitive case

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Anonymous

#425304 Sat, 29 Sep 07 10:46 PM

Is it correct that you cannot have a genetive ('s or ') case of an uncountable noun?

I think this is true but I have not seen it written anywhere.

TIA.

CSV.

Anonymous

Countable nouns, Genitives, Nouns, Uncountable nouns

Clive

#425316 Sat, 29 Sep 07 11:30 PM

Hi,

You mean something like 'He stood at the water's edge'? This is fine.

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

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Countable nouns, Genitives, Nouns, Uncountable nouns

Anonymous

#425319 Sat, 29 Sep 07 11:33 PM

Thanks Clive.

That's an excellent example of what I was thinking about. So, I was wrong.

Anonymous

Countable nouns, Genitives, Nouns, Uncountable nouns

Anonymous

#425482 Sun, 30 Sep 07 10:12 AM

Thank you, Clive.

Can you give me the reason why it is not attractive to form the genitive out of an uncountable noun? What is it about an uncountable noun that makes it less attractive or make it less popular in terms of its usage in the genitive form?

Anonymous

Countable nouns, Genitives, Nouns, Uncountable nouns

Clive

#425523 Sun, 30 Sep 07 02:16 PM

Hi,

You are not asking an easy question. The 'apostrophe ess' form is called the Saxon genitive, which is derived from 'Old English', so it's a very old feature of the English language.

It indicates possession or close association. Perhaps it's easier to see/feel close association when you are talking about something you can count?

Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Apostrophes, Countable nouns, Genitives, Nouns, Uncountable nouns