Of?

[irmamar]

Is it right the use of "of" here?

The ideas about rights reflected those of John Locke.

Thanks.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Is it right the use of "of" here?

The ideas about rights reflected those of John Locke.

Yes, quite correct. Of the two genitive constructions in English, you choose the one which is tidier. You could also say

The ideas about rights reflected John Locke's

But this untidy and possibly incorrect (because you ask JL's what?).

In most cases the two are quite correct:

My friend's dog has just bitten me
The dog of my friend has just bitten me

But I prefer the the former.

Similarly

My aunt's ear-trumpet has been struck by lightning.
The ear-trumpet of my aunt has been struck by lightning.

This time, I prefer the latter, but maybe just because it sounds like la plume de ma tant

[poli]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Yes, quite correct. Of the two genitive constructions in English, you choose the one which is tidier. You could also say

The ideas about rights reflected John Locke's

But this untidy and possibly incorrect (because you ask JL's what?).

In most cases the two are quite correct:

My friend's dog has just bitten me ****
The dog of my friend has just bitten me ****

But I prefer the the former.

Similarly

My aunt's ear-trumpet has been struck by lightning.****
The ear-trumpet of my aunt has been struck by lightning.****

This time, I prefer the latter, but maybe just because it sounds like la plume de ma tant

This is a perfect example of how English can be a romance language if it
wishes to be. "The ear trumpet of my aunt.." is very Spanish or French or Italian. It is also more high tone, poetic and used less.
....and she was miraculously cured of deafness, and all other things as well.

[irmamar]

Thank you.