By Jokes, Genitives

A joke perhaps, and if so, one I do not understand. If anything, the evolution of the language is going the other way. Inanimate objects more and more take the Saxon genitive: 'the building's foundation', 'the book's cover', etc.

Can anyone tell me if they have heard that it is no longer necessary to use the "Saxon Genitive". Some TV prog for kids stated that it was not necessary. I always thought it made life easier. This is the sweater of John ...... This is John's sweater! Must be some kind of joke. Thanks...

Hi, MountainHiker, I have a question here. > You are right that 'boyfriend's' implies sort of possessive, I would say it behaves like a 'doubel genitive' or 'possesive/double pronoun'. For examples She's a friend of mine. She's a friend of ours. She's a friend of my boyfriend's. Another...