Notes 1. Although possessive nouns function as adjectives, this example demonstrates why we need to teach students to identify them as possessive nouns. 2. I have considered adding "Nouns Used as Adjectives" to the KISS inventory of constructions, but decided against it. Should a student raise a question about it, I would respond that it certainly does look as if nouns can function as adjectives, and then I would congratulate her (or him) for the discovery. 3. "My" modifies "sister's," and, as noted above, the possessive noun functions as an adjective. 4. I'm cheating here, and I wouldn't be
bothered if students caught me. "Novermber the 23rd" is idiomatic for "the
23rd of November." I could make a longer explanation using ellipsis --
"is in November on the 23rd." But often longer explanations waste valuable
class time. The important point is that students already know that "November
the 23rd" forms a single chunk (phrase).
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