Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 November 2008
The to possessive may be defined as that phrasal possessive construction using to which interchanges with either an inflected possessive or an of possessive or both, and with a sentence using a form of the verb have. For example:
(1) father to the bride (to possessive, henceforth to-Poss)
(2) bride's father (inflected possessive, henceforth gen-Poss)
(3) father of the bride (of possessive, henceforth of-Poss)
(4) the bride has this father.