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#2 (permalink) Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:14 am A three-day journey vs Three days' journey |
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| One is correct and one isn't. Do you know which is which? |
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Canadian45 I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 08 Oct 2006 Posts: 184 Location: Canada
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#3 (permalink) Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:02 am Thanks |
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Hi canadian45,
Thanks for your response. I think "A three-day journey" is correct.
But why is "Three day's journey" not correct?
Await your explanation Jupiter |
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Jupiter I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 15 Dec 2005 Posts: 207 Location: Cambodia
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#4 (permalink) Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:19 am A three-day journey vs Three days' journey |
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Hi,
A three day journey is, as you say, correct. 'Three day' is descriptive and 'three days' ' is possessive.
A _________________ English as a Second Language You can read my ESL story Well, Hello! |
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Alan Co-founder

Joined: 27 Sep 2003 Posts: 9191 Location: UK
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#5 (permalink) Fri Nov 17, 2006 20:10 pm A three-day journey vs Three days' journey |
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Couldn't "three days' journey" be acceptable as an estimate of distance?
"How far is it, Rodeon Romanovitch?"
"Oh, it's about three days' journey from here, Sofya." _________________ Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee. |
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Prezbucky I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 2527 Location: Nashville, TN (USA)
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#6 (permalink) Sat Nov 18, 2006 5:31 am A three-day journey vs Three days' journey |
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Hi teachers,
Actually, I want to know if there's any difference between "a three-day journey" and "three day's journey"
Thanks
Jupiter |
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Jupiter I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 15 Dec 2005 Posts: 207 Location: Cambodia
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#7 (permalink) Sat Nov 18, 2006 6:06 am A three-day journey vs Three days' journey |
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jupiter The possessive form is not appropriate here; the journey is not a possession of 'three days'! You need an adjective, and the correct adjective is three-day. The adjective does not take an "s" or an apostrophe but it does need a hyphen, as it is a compound adjective. |
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Canadian45 I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 08 Oct 2006 Posts: 184 Location: Canada
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#8 (permalink) Sat Nov 18, 2006 9:14 am A three-day journey vs Three days' journey |
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Hi Jupiter
As Alan and prezbucky have already written, the correct possessive form of three days is three days'. The possessive apostrophe must be placed after the s in a plural noun such as days.
You will be able to find plenty of errors similar to three day's if you search the internet because putting the apostrophe in the wrong place is not an unusual mistake for either native or non-native speakers of English.
The word three-day is an adjective.
Otherwise, I'd say that there is basically no difference in meaning between a three-day journey and three days' journey, however I'd say that using the adjective (three-day) would be far more typical.
Amy |
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Yankee I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 16 Apr 2006 Posts: 8265 Location: USA
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#9 (permalink) Sat Nov 18, 2006 9:50 am A three-day journey vs Three days' journey |
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Hi
| canadian45 wrote: |
| The possessive form is not appropriate here; the journey is not a possession of 'three days'! |
Could you comment use of apostrophe in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" (1962) ?
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Couldn't "three days' journey" be acceptable as an estimate of distance? "How far is it, Rodeon Romanovitch?" |
I think, translation from many languages tempts to use the form in this case.
If in some culture the distance informally estimated by the number of pipes smoked (to be smoked), there would be a temptation to say in English three pipes’ distance or something like that. Or not? _________________ It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water… |
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Tamara I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 25 May 2006 Posts: 1577 Location: UK
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#10 (permalink) Sat Nov 18, 2006 10:03 am A three-day journey vs Three days' journey |
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| Yankee wrote: |
| Otherwise, I'd say that there is basically no difference in meaning between a three-day journey and three days' journey, however I'd say that using the adjective (three-day) would be far more typical. |
Just to clarify a bit more:
If you say a three-day journey, the focus is on a journey If you say three days' journey, your focus would be on the the length of time a journey to a certain place would take (and this also refers indirectly to the distance to a place).
Amy |
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Yankee I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 16 Apr 2006 Posts: 8265 Location: USA
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#11 (permalink) Sun Nov 19, 2006 11:21 am Thanks |
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Hi everyone, esp Amy,
Sorry for my typo "three day's journey". I did want to mean "three days' journey" Thanks for your fantastic explanation. It made me clear at last.
Million thanks
Jupiter |
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Jupiter I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 15 Dec 2005 Posts: 207 Location: Cambodia
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