'Arroyo' in place of 'Arroyo's'

[Tan Elaine]

The Comelec's main witness, Mr Norie Usman, is the former right-hand man of a leader of the infamous Ampatuan clan, which was a close ally of Arroyo's.

Would it be wrong if I change the word in bold to 'Arroyo'?

Thanks.

[JohnParis]

It depends.

Mr Norie Usman, is the former right-hand man of a leader of the infamous Ampatuan clan.
Since the author used the word "which", he is referring to the whole Ampatuanclan (not Mr. Usman) when he says that it (the Amputan clan) was a close ally of Arroyo's (clan).

If the author had used the word "who", he would be saying that the leader of the Amputan clan was a close ally of the man "Arroyo".

Tan Elaine, only you know the context in which the sentence was written. Given the information I have supplied, what do you think it means?

John

[Tan Elaine]

The Comelec's main witness, Mr Norie Usman, is the former right-hand man of a leader of the infamous Ampatuan clan, which was a close ally of Arroyo's.

Would it be wrong if I change the word in bold to 'Arroyo'?

Thanks, John.

My interpretation is that the said clan was Arroyo's close ally. My question is whether it would be correct, based on my interpretation, to use "...a close ally of Arroyo". (The original has "Arroyo's") [Ms Arroyo was the President of the Philippines before Mr Aquino took over as the current President.}

[5jj]

I feel a slight difference:

He is an ally of Arroyo = He and Arroyo are allies.
He is an ally of Arroyo's = He is one of Arroyo's allies.

[Tan Elaine]

I feel a slight difference:

He is an ally of Arroyo = He and Arroyo are allies.
He is an ally of Arroyo's = He is one of Arroyo's allies.

Thanks,5jj.

May I ask a related matter?

He is a friend of my father.

He is a friend of my father's.

Do the above sentences share the same difference as the sentences you wrote?

[JohnParis]

The Ampatuan clan was a close ally of President Arroyo.
The Ampatuan clan was a close ally of Arroyo.

Like you, I feel that these sentences are acceptable if the alliance was to the person.

The Ampatuan clan was a close ally of Arroyo's.
Using the possessive "Arroyo's" makes me think that the author is referring to one clan being allied with another - not one clan being allied to a single person.
However, this is a common error, and I've heard similar errors spoken and seen them written in reputable journals.

John

[5jj]

I feel a similar difference:

He is a friend of my father - He and my father are friends.

He is a friend of my father's. - He is one of my father's friends.

It's a fairly subtle difference, but i think it's a real one.

Incidentally, my use of the '=' sign in my last post may have suggested an exact equivalence of meaning. I meant only that the meanings were very similar.