Which are correct:
1) He had a pilot's training.
2) He had a pilots' training.
3) He had a pilots training.
4) I subscribed to a pilot's journal.
5) I subscribed to a pilots' journal.
6) I subscribed to a pilots journal.
Gratefully,
Navi
a pilot's training
Moderator: Alan
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Alan
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Re: a pilot's training
A most interesting question, which raises the issue of possessives used as modifiers.
Of 1~3: 3 is incorrect, 2 is unnatural, 1 is natural.
Of 4~6: 6 is incorrect, 4 is unnatural, 5 is natural.
Although you do not enquire about the reasons, I will endeavor to provide a basic explanation for the choices between the unnatural and the natural choices in each case: in the case of 1~3, the meaning is essentially 'the training typically given to A/EVERY pilot', hence 'pilot' here is treated, in accordance with its "natural" role as a substantive, as a determiner.
In 4~6, on the other hand, with "a pilots' journal", we are dealing with an expression essentially analogous to e.g. "a men's hat" (= a hat for men rather for women), meaning 'a journal for (any/all) pilots' (rather than semantically possible, but very different, 'a journal belonging to a particular pilot'). In this kind of case, mainly to avoid any potential ambiguity, we tend to treat the noun as a modifier, rather than as a determiner (hence 'a' here belongs grammatically with 'journal', rather than with 'pilot' as in the previous case).
I hope that makes sense to you!
Of 1~3: 3 is incorrect, 2 is unnatural, 1 is natural.
Of 4~6: 6 is incorrect, 4 is unnatural, 5 is natural.
Although you do not enquire about the reasons, I will endeavor to provide a basic explanation for the choices between the unnatural and the natural choices in each case: in the case of 1~3, the meaning is essentially 'the training typically given to A/EVERY pilot', hence 'pilot' here is treated, in accordance with its "natural" role as a substantive, as a determiner.
In 4~6, on the other hand, with "a pilots' journal", we are dealing with an expression essentially analogous to e.g. "a men's hat" (= a hat for men rather for women), meaning 'a journal for (any/all) pilots' (rather than semantically possible, but very different, 'a journal belonging to a particular pilot'). In this kind of case, mainly to avoid any potential ambiguity, we tend to treat the noun as a modifier, rather than as a determiner (hence 'a' here belongs grammatically with 'journal', rather than with 'pilot' as in the previous case).
I hope that makes sense to you!