Pronoun it

by **huntgmat** Tue Mar 11, 2008 4:22 pm

Source: Self made

The public's belief in the existence of ghosts as well as its general curiosity about hidden life, has generated considerable interest in horror movies.

If the above is coorect , please could you explain why its is having refernt "public's" and not "beleif".

Public's --> is a adjective of belief.

So why ITS is not "beliefs" but "publics" ????? :?:

by **StaceyKoprince** Fri Mar 14, 2008 3:12 pm

A belief cannot have general curiosity about anything. People can, animals can, but inanimate objects cannot, nor can concepts.

"its" is an example of a possessive pronoun. Possessive pronouns can refer to possessive nouns (which is how "public's" functions in this sentence). (Possessive pronouns can also refer to regular nouns - don't want anyone to think that possessive pronouns can only refer to possessive nouns.)