genitive as a descriptive attribute

Can we use an indefinite article referring it to the head-noun modified by a plural noun in the genitive case considering the latter as a descriptive attribute?

e.g.
a soldiers' canteen, a girls' school, a three miles' walk, a fifteen minutes' break

, etc. ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sergeyrais

Can we use an indefinite article referring it to the head-noun modified by a plural noun in the genitive case considering the latter as a descriptive attribute?

e.g.
a soldiers' canteen, a girls' school, a three miles' walk, a fifteen minutes' break

, etc. ?

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The first two are OK, although I don't like the first one much, it doesn't feel natural. The second two are not possible.

Dear Moderator,
Could you recommend me a trustworthy grammar reference where I would find some information about the use of articles with countable nouns modified by nouns in the genetive case?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bhaisahab

The first two are OK, although I don't like the first one much, it doesn't feel natural. The second two are not possible.

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a three days’ absence
a two miles’ distance
a three miles' walk
a fifteen minutes' break

Is there anything wrong in the following explanation of the constructions above?

1. The -'s genitive is possible with certain nouns denoting time, distance and measure.
2. It is possible to use plural nouns with the -'s genitive.
3. The noun in the genitive case may be used as a classifying (descriptive) attribute before a noun.
4. A noun modified with a classifying (descriptive) attribute should be used with an indefinite article

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sergeyrais

a three days’ absence
a two miles’ distance
a three miles' walk
a fifteen minutes' break

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None of these examples is very natural.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 5jj

None of these examples is very natural.

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Dear 5jj,
Should one identify these examples as unnatural through linguistic intuition or are there any special rules in the English grammar which make the examples incorrect?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sergeyrais

Should one identify these examples as unnatural through linguistic intuition or are there any special rules in the English grammar which make the examples incorrect?

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There are no firm rules that I know of. It's simply a matter of some forms being acceptable and others not. You can read more on Genitive meanings, Genitive as determiner and Gender as modifier in Quirk et al (1985), A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, London: UOP, pages 321-331. You could also try Huddleston and Pullum (2002), The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, Cambridge: CUP, pages 467-483.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 5jj

There are no firm rules that I know of. It's simply a matter of some forms being acceptable and others not. You can read more on Genitive meanings, Genitive as determiner and Gender as modifier in Quirk et al (1985), A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, London: UOP, pages 321-331. You could also try Huddleston and Pullum (2002), The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, Cambridge: CUP, pages 467-483.

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not a teacher

Dear 5jj,
Thank you indeed for your advising me the Grammar references. They are really useful. Having read

Quirk et al (1985),

A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, London: UOP, pages 321-331I found out a mistake in my explanation of indefinite articles in the phrases

a three days’ absence, a two miles’ distance, a three miles' walk,

a fifteen minutes' break etc., for I claimed the genitive of those phrases to be a descriptive one, but it turned out to be a genitive of measure, thus not giving us a good reason for

referring

an indefinite article

to the head-noun modified by a plural noun in the genitive case. But if it were a descriptive genitive, I believe things would be different.