But there is no alternative word for inanimate objects in this case, so "whose" is considered correct by most authorities, including Shakespeare and Milton.. – … As a rule, nouns referring to inanimate things should not be in the possessive. Example: The hotel room. The ball belongs to the dog.We usually use possessive 's when we are talking about living things, such as people, groups of people, and animals.A dog is a living creature, so we can use the possessive.The possessive form can sound strange if you use it to talk about things that aren't alive (inanimate objects).The leg of the table is broken.A table is not alive, so it sounds strange to say 'the table's leg is broken'.Most plural nouns end in s. When a plural noun end in s, you make the possessive form by adding just the apostrophe (').There are multiple children.
The second and third phrases are correct:But if the owner is not a person, does it actually own it according to English rules or common usage? We usually use possessive 's when we are talking about living things, such as people, groups of people, and animals. Examples of this include: the bottom of the barrel (NOT: the barrel’s bottom) the wording of the agreement (NOT: the agreement’s wording; the lower level of the terminal (NOT: the terminal’s lower level) We use inanimate possessive case in time phrases, to show the belonging of an action to a specific period of time.
Use an “of” phrase instead.
Living Things and Inanimate Objects. The crown belongs to the princess. The girl owns the hat.There are multiple dogs. (Feel free to modify this question so it would be clear for other people.)
Consider the following quotes from Shakespeare (selected from many more quotes where whose refers to an inanimate object) and more recent authors: Hamlet I.v "Many writers consider it bad form to use apostrophe -s possessives with pieces of furniture and buildings or inanimate objects in general. However, inanimate objects, by nature, don't "possess" things, so this should not be overdone. Instead of "the desk's edge" (according to many authorities), we should write "the edge of the desk" and instead of "the hotel's windows" we …
prefer the second stylistically, that's fine but it's not an actual grammatical rule. There is, however, some argument about whether it’s OK to use whose to refer to something that’s not a person or animal: a car or a tree, for instance.
That’s what Mike was asking about: whether it’s OK to use whose to refer to what’s known as an “inanimate antecedent.”
Examples, The car’s wheels were brand new. 'Princess' is a noun. What to Know. Possession is a privilege limited to living things. …
For example, you generally would not say the following: My bike's tires have no tread left on them. The dog's leg is broken. The possessive form can sound strange if you use it to talk about things that aren't alive (inanimate objects).
"a book") and even intangible things (e.g. "Many English teachers advise against applying the possessive case to inanimate objects. In American English, the possessive case can be used with an inanimate object. Whose to Refer to Inanimate Objects. Which phrase is right?English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. However, if we think of "whose" as being the possessive form of both "who" and "which" (not just "who"), then this reluctance disappears.