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Hey guys. I wonder why there is no possessive s in this sentence; (I have two tickets for Yo Yo Ma concert tonight!). Shouldn’t it be like Yo Yo Ma’s concert?!

American English file starter

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AussieInBg profile picture AussieInBgJanuary 2021

Most likely, a mistake in the text book. You are missing an article in the sentence.

It should be: ”I have 2 tickets for *the* Yo Yo Ma concert tonight.”

”Yo Yo Ma” defines which concert - this is the artist/group who is having the concert.  Therefore, you need ”the”.

Now, if you know Yo Yo Ma personally, then you would say it like this: ”I have 2 tickets for Yo Yo Ma’s concert tonight.” Here, we would use the possessive - Yo Yo Ma’s.

Sometimes, if you have an emotional/personal connection to the artist/group, you might use the possessive "Yo Yo Ma's". Often, really big fans of a singer/group would use the possessive form.

  • AussieInBg profile picture AussieInBgMay 2021
    ”The Yo Yo Ma concert” could imply ownership of ”concert” by ”Yo Yo Ma” here - a transformation of ”The concert of Yo Yo Ma” where ”of Yo Yo Ma” describes possession of ”the concert” by ”Yo Yo Ma”.

    However, ”Yo Yo Ma concert” without an article would not be standard English.
exRanger profile picture exRangerMay 2021
I agree that the statement is missing an article, but the missing article could be indefinite -- ”a” -- or definite -- ”the” -- depending on the context.
  • AussieInBg profile picture AussieInBgMay 2021
    Ummmmm... You’ve mentioned the word ”context”. The sentence given by the poster definitely has context.

    Given that there are two tickets for a very specific concert with a defined time - tonight - then it is highly unlikely that an indefinite article would be used here....

    Perhaps you haven’t been to a concert for the last 30 years or more?
AlexandraK89 profile picture AlexandraK89January 2021
I dont think so,think it like this:i have 2 tickets for julliete concert tonight.its the name of the concert,its not a part of the concert