English Language & Usage Asked on December 4, 2020
Is there any difference in English between:
His books
The books of him
?
It would seem not. For example:
Bob read his books.
could mean: "Bob read his [own] books." or "Bob read [some other male’s] books."
Bob read the books of him.
would seem this couldn’t mean: "Bob read his own books.", but only that "Bob read [some other male’s] books."
This is reminiscent of Latin’s difference between suus (possessive adjective: its/his/hers) and eius (genitive pronoun: of it / of his / of her).
Bob legit libros suos.
could only mean he read his own books
Bob legit libros eius.
could only mean he read someone else’s books
Bob read the books of him.
This is incorrect. I suppose we would understand it but it seems very strange.
Bob read his books.
This is ambiguous without further context. However, given that we always have context in normal life, this isn't usually a problem. For example:
Stephen King was Bob's favourite author. Bob read his books avidly.
If you want Bob to read his own books then say that:
Bob read his own books.
or
Bob loved books. He read his books whenever he could.
Answered by chasly - supports Monica on December 4, 2020
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