I prefer c), The ode begins with the poet's address to the West Wind.

Student or Learner
a) The ode begins with an address of the poet to the West Wind.
b) The ode begins with an address of the poet's to the West Wind.
c) The ode begins with the poet's address to the West Wind.
Which of these sentences is correct and which sounds better?
P.s: I know I could cut it short by saying The poet addresses... but I'd like to know if one of those forms is possible.
I prefer c), The ode begins with the poet's address to the West Wind.
Thank you for replying.
Which are gramatically correct?
In my opinion, although the poet's address is correct, it is odd changing the phrase to use the possessive "of". "From" would work better in a). b) is incorrect.
a) The ode begins with an address of the poet to the West Wind.
b) The ode begins with an address of the poet's to the West Wind.
c) The ode begins with the poet's address to the West Wind.
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They looked odd to me too. That's why I posted it.
I wondered whether they were gramatically correct or not since those sentences are built up just as the expression George's friend becomes a friend of George's if you are talking about a generic friend.
But I feel it doesn't work here, am I right?
Last edited by Englishlanguage; 23-Jun-2007 at 09:59.
Hi again,
To be honest, I answered that b) was wrong because of my aversion to the "double possessive" (possessive of-phrase used with an apostrophe), which I have been told (and researched!) is completely acceptable. I had always been schooled that the apostrophe used to show possession as well as an of-phrase is redundant and therefore incorrect![]()
Anyway...a) seems/sounds awkward and often the "rules" around using "of" versus an "apostrophe" are vague and arbitrary. As a native speaker, if I have to think too hard about the meaning of the sentence, something's wrong![]()
Not very scientific I'm afraid, but I'm certain someone else will have something to say!
Fiona
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