On 2006-05-07 22:59, Brian M. Scott wrote:
> That's the motivation; the fact that it *can* be done,
> however, shows a willingness to treat a complex expression
> as a simple noun.
The question of the status of <'s> in Modern English was discussed here
last year. My own opinion is that the "Saxon genitive" has evolved from
a true inflection into a sort of phrasal enclitic (once, although not at
present, _partly_ identified with <his>):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cybalist/message/36286
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cybalist/message/36314
(and see the rest of that thread)
Piotr