Hello there, I'm a language expert with a keen interest in the nuances of English grammar and usage. When it comes to the possessive form of nouns, there's a bit of a dance between singular and plural forms, and when to add an apostrophe and an 's' versus just an apostrophe.
The possessive form is used to indicate ownership or a relationship between two entities. For singular nouns, the possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe followed by an 's', like in "the cat's toy". However, when we're dealing with plural nouns that end with an 's', the rule can sometimes be a bit tricky.
As you pointed out, for plural nouns that do not end with an 's', the possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe and an 's'. This is the case for "men", which is a plural noun. The possessive form of "men" is "men's", indicating that the possession is shared by all the men in question. This is similar to "children's", which is the possessive form of "children".
On the other hand, for plural nouns that already end with an 's', the possessive is formed by adding just an apostrophe. This is because the 's' at the end of the word already indicates plurality, and adding another 's' could be redundant and potentially confusing. Examples include "buses'" and "countries'", where the possession is attributed to multiple buses or countries, respectively.
It's important to note that these rules are generally accepted and followed in standard English usage, but there can be exceptions, especially in informal writing or speech. The key is to be consistent in the use of possessive forms within a given piece of writing to avoid confusion for the reader.
Now, let's move on to the translation of the explanation into Chinese.
你好,我是一位对英语语法和用法细节非常感兴趣的语言专家。当涉及到名词的所有格形式时,单数和复数形式之间有一些微妙的差别,以及何时添加撇号和's',何时只添加撇号。
所有格用于表示两个实体之间的所有权或关系。对于单数名词,所有格是通过添加撇号后跟's'形成的,比如“猫的玩具”。然而,当我们处理以's'结尾的复数名词时,规则有时可能会有点棘手。
正如你所指出的,对于不以's'结尾的复数名词,所有格是通过添加撇号和一个's'形成的。这是“men”的情况,它是一个复数名词。“men”的所有格形式是“men's”,表示所有提到的男人的共有。这与“children's”相似,是“children”的所有格形式。
另一方面,对于已经以's'结尾的复数名词,所有格是通过只添加一个撇号形成的。这是因为单词末尾的's'已经表示了复数,再添加另一个's'可能是多余的,并且可能会引起混淆。例如,“buses'”和“countries'”,分别表示多辆公共汽车或多个国家的所有。
需要注意的是,这些规则通常被接受并遵循在标准英语使用中,但在非正式写作或口语中可能会有例外。关键是在给定的写作中一致地使用所有格形式,以避免给读者造成混淆。
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