Neil: Hello and welcome to Question and Answer of the Week. I'm Neil and joining
me in the studio today is Li.
Yang Li: Hi there. 今天我们要帮助 Peter 解答一个他感到困惑的英语单词 possession. 请我们
的同事孙晨代读。
Inserts
我是一个在国内的学生，我对 possession 这个词的单复数拿捏不准，以至于现在不敢用这个词。
Possession 这个词语是单复数同型，还是它就仅是单数名词。比如我想说"好朋友是人生的一大财富"，
我该如何表述?Good friends are(is) valueble possession of my life. 这里是用are还是is?
初次发邮件，激动万分。Peter
Yang Li: 这是一个很好的问题，I will start with Chinese explanation and let Neil finish off
with the main points in English. 根据我个人的经验加上查阅了几个权威字典，
possession 个词即可以表示单数也可以表示复数。具体说有三个要点：
第一，当这个词用来表达所有和拥有的时候。 When you have or own something,
它是不可数名词，呈单数形式，谓语动词应该用单数。
Neil: The possession of a degree does not guarantee you a job
Yang Li: 获得学位并不能包你找到一份工作。
Neil: Famished families have sold their every possession in order to eat.
Yang Li: 饥荒的人家把每件东西都卖了，为了还口饭吃。如果表示所有的物品或财产，这个词所表
达的是复数概念，后面加 s, possessions. A man with lots of possessions 一个腰缠
万贯的富翁。句子中的动词要用复数。比如，在乘坐火车或飞机旅行时经常听到这样的提
示：
Neil: Please remember to take all your personal possessions when you leave the
train.
Yang Li: 第三， 最后两个常用短语： in possession of something 占有或拥有某物。
Neil: He was found in possession of explosives.
Yang Li: 这名男子被发现拥有爆炸物。另一个短语是 to come into possession of something.
获得:
Neil: My father told me how our family came into possession of the necklace.
Yang Li: 我父亲告诉我我们家是如何获得这条项链的。
OK. Now let’s recap the main points today in English with my colleague Neil.
Neil: The basic meaning of the word possession is the state of owning something,
something that you have or something you are carrying with you. Well,
when it is used as in the abstract sense, it is an uncountable noun and the
verb should correspond, 'is' instead of 'are'.
Inserts
A: Phew, after three years of hard work I finally got my degree.
B: That’s good, but mind you, the possession of a degree does not guarantee you a job.
Neil: When it's used to refer to something specific, then it is plural – possessions
– and the verb should plural as well, for example:
Inserts
Please remember to take all your personal possessions when you leave the train.
Neil: Finally, we’d like you to learn two useful phrases involving the word
possession: 'in possession of something', meaning you have or you are
carrying.
Inserts
He was found in possession of explosives.
Neil: The second phrase is 'to come into possession of something', meaning to
acquire something, something that belongs to you now but didn’t use to.
Inserts
My father told me how our family came into possession of the necklace.
Yang Li: Thanks Neil that’s a great help. I hope that this programme answers your
question, Peter, and you can use the word more confidently in the future.
Good luck.