Using an apostrophes for a non living thing?
Can I use an 's for non-living things to show possessiveness.
Example:
The book's cover.
The table's leg.
Elijah
New member
2 answers 
Yes, you may use the possessive with inanimate objects.
Sanjay, do you remember when we discussed preposition sprawl a few weeks ago? Concise writing keeps prepositions to a necessary minimum. Using possessives is one way of reducing unnecessary prepositions (non-native speakers often have difficulty with this because other languages often handle possession differently). Prepositional phrases beginning with "of the" can often be replaced with the possessive.
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answered Jun 10 '12 at 15:38
Jeff Pribyl
Grammarly Fellow
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Yes, you are right. Thank you very much.
add commentI would prefer to say 1)The cover of the book. 2) The leg of the table.
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answered Jun 10 '12 at 13:48
sanjay
Expert
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Sanjay, the use of a possessive -- even with inanimate objects -- is generally preferred to a prepositional phrase. Non-native speakers often overuse prepositional phrases and underuse possessives. See my answer for more.
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