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From: John Cowan <cowan@ccil.org>
Subject: Re: Article
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Date: Wed, 30 Oct 1996 18:52:39 GMT
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Brian M. Scott wrote:
> 
> In article <3275C3A4.F2E@eurocontrol.fr>, Peter.Hullah@eurocontrol.fr says...
>
> >If you really want a discussion on the use of the genitive: why do
> >TV commentators (especially sports commentators) insist on saying
> >"the left leg of Keegan" rather than "the left leg of Keegan's"
> >(or better: "Keegan's left leg")? I would never talk about "a leg of
> >me" when talking about one of my legs, I'd say "a leg of mine".
> >(Note that "a leg of lamb" is another example of a noun, "lamb",
> >used as an adjective.).
> 
> You've got the question backwards, I think.  I doubt that you would
> say 'the left branch of the river's' instead of 'the left branch of
> the river'.  It's the pronominal usage that wants explaining.

It's not only pronouns that are involved.  To say "Professor X was a
student of Kant" means that he studied Kant; to say "Professor X was
a student of Kant's" implies that he has been dead for a century or
more!  (I forget who told me this example.)

The first sentence has an underlying structure "X studied Kant";
traditionally such genitives were called "objective genitives".
They cannot be replaced with "X's student":  "Professor X was
Kant's student" enforces the second interpretation only.

I conjecture that the "of Y's" double genitive exists when there
is a potential conflict between a true possessive and some other usage.

-- 
John Cowan						cowan@ccil.org
			e'osai ko sarji la lojban
