The xx of xx

[kachibi]

I wonder if we need to add "the" for an object's possession when we write it in the "XX of YY" form. Say, the dresses of Mary, the cows of China, the apples of Canada, the students of this school, etc. I asked one native Englsih speaker about this and she said YES because the things in front of "of" are well-defined (they belong to the latter things). Would like more native English speakers to confirm this. Thank you!

 

[a_vee]

Yes. You're talking about something that is unique in this world. It's the same idea as "The Pacific Ocean" and "The President of Mexico".

 

[SoothingDave]

On the other hand, if talking about something that is not "definite" then we would use the indefinite article. He is a friend of mine.

 

[emsr2d2]

And if you got rid of the article completely, you could have something like "Friends of the owner attended the party". Here, we would assume it meant "Some friends of the owner".

I would like to point out that things like "the dresses of Mary" and "the apples of Canada" are unnatural. The first would be worded "Mary's dresses" and the second would be "Canadian apples" - a country doesn't own a type of fruit.