The Ledge Usage Guide

[skcin]

Originally Posted by elie

I have a question
Is it the same to say -for example- "the farmer's daughter" and "the daughter of the farmer"?
Is the latter perhaps more formal somehow? Are there cases where you just have to use the genitive?

It is the same, but the former is used much more than the latter in the U.S.

Newpaper articles are about the only instance I can think of, actually. "Sara Smith, the daughter of the farmer, tells us that he loved his farm dearly..." But you don't usually hear someone saying it that way in conversation.