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I couldn't seem to find anyone asking a question like this anywhere, so I figured I'd start here. The sentence in question is

"A dolphin sleeps with half its brain awake so it can remain aware of its underwater environment."

My question is would it be more grammatically correct to say "half of its" or is "half its" just as valid a way to write this sentence as "half of its"? Whatever the answer, is there anyone that may have a rule or some form of logical explanation as to why that answer is correct?

I appreciate any help that can be offered.

Confounded
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    Both are commonly used and sound fine. – Isabel Archer May 07 '20 at 07:03
  • I thought so, but I was looking more for an explanation as to the "why". – Confounded May 07 '20 at 07:04
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    Your question has been asked before. Try this: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/217600/should-i-use-half-the-time-or-half-of-the-time – Isabel Archer May 07 '20 at 07:08
  • "half of its" or is "half its"++ The meaning is the same but the structures are different. In "half its brain" is the head word is brain = noun; its brain is a noun phrase and "half" is a noun acting as an adjective - but it is not classed as an adjective: ++ Determiners precede nouns. In "half the time," both half and its function as determiners, but because half must come before its, half is a "predeterminer". Half its brain is itself a noun phrase. ++ In half of its brain, "half" (a noun) is the head word; and is modified by the prepositional phrase "of its brain". – Greybeard May 07 '20 at 16:19
  • Thanks Isabel Archer and Greybeard. I guess the answer isn't super 'cut and dry' and is more a matter of how you want to write. – Confounded May 07 '20 at 23:11

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