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Why is not it possible to write "company files" as "company's files"?

I am not quite sure whether it is correct to say "company's files".

M. Elsamouly
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  • "Company files" already implies that the company is the owner. If the situation is unambiguous, the possessive is unneeded. An exception might be a confusing situation where you need to distinguish between files you own that are about companies and files owned by companies. In that case, you would need the possessive for clarity. – fixer1234 Feb 21 '17 at 09:28

1 Answers1

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I think in this case company is being used to modify files like an adjective instead of a possessive. For example: Office printer (not office's printer) or the village church (not village's church)

Examples: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/adjectives/noun-modifiers

Erin-Kate Sousa
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    We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context. Please explain why your answer is right, ideally with citations. Answers that don't include explanations may be removed. – Hank Feb 21 '17 at 14:15