The use of s and s' with non-living things

We may use s/s' or the of-construction with the following:

Geographical reference: America's policy, Hong Kong's future Institutional reference: the European Economic Community s

exports 's ors' are normally used with the following:

Place noun + superlative: New York's tallest skyscraper
Churches and cathedrals: St Paul's Church, St Stephen’s Cathedral
Time references: a day's work, an hour's delay, a month’s

Salary, today’s TV, a year’s absence, a
week or two's time, two days' journey
'Money's worth': twenty dollars' worth of gasoline

Fixed expressions: (keep someone) at arm’s length, (be) at

death's door the earth s surface for goodness sake, (to) one s heart s content journey s end, the ship's company An s is sometimes used with reference to cars, planes and ships: the car s exhaust the plane s engines the ship's propeller We can only learn from experience when to use s with non-living things. When in doubt, it is best to use the of-construction.