OURS

In the EGP, there are several points in the category of PRONOUNS with the possessive pronoun ‘ours’:

C1 Point 101:

… in subject position

B2 Point 72:

… with singular and plural reference, in subject position.

B2 Point 86 is the same except:

… in object positions, and complement positions after ‘be’ and after prepositions.

B2 Point 87 

possessive pronoun ‘ours’ after noun + ‘of’.

B2 Point 76 is dealt with in another post: https://englishgrammar.pro/comparative-hers-ours/

There is no clear indication of what the difference is between the C1 101 and B2 72 point when it is in the subject position since ‘ours’ will always ‘have a singular or plural reference’.  This is another example of ambiguity in the EGP.  

To add to the confusion, when we look at ‘ours’ in the EVP, we are given an A2 level for the word and an example from a B1 student:

A search in iWeb for: ours _v

*’Ours’ is not always the subject in the following Ngrams!  Since here it is not the first word in the clause. (It is often the last word in the preceding clause).

1 OURS IS 13647

  Los Angeles Times

Democracies around the world are under threat. Ours is no exception.

2 OURS WAS 4788
3 OURS ARE 3825
4 OURS HAS 1955
5 OURS WERE 1215
6 OURS HAVE 1047
7 OURS WILL 1027
8 OURS HAD 885
9 OURS DID 796
10 OURS DOES 792
11 OURS CAN 647
12 OURS DO 554
13 OURS WOULD 550
14 OURS CAME 365
15 OURS COULD 236
16 OURS SHOULD 221
17 OURS MAY 209
18 OURS INCLUDED 204
19 OURS WENT 166
20 OURS TOOK 158
21 OURS LOOKS 141
22 OURS COMES 135
23 OURS COME 129
24 OURS GOT 126
25 OURS MUST 125
26 OURS BEING 122
27 OURS BE 120
28 OURS LOOK 105
29 OURS STARTED 103
30 OURS GET 99
31 OURS DONE 97
32 OURS MIGHT 97
33 OURS TURNED 97
34 OURS USED 94
35 OURS LOOKED 91
36 OURS NEEDS 87
37 OURS WORKS 84

OURS SEEMS

  That’s Online

The History of the Daiquiri: War, White Rum and a Ship’s Doctor

There may be other universes based on all sorts of other principles, but ours seems to be based on war.

May 6, 2020

39 OURS GETS 78
40 OURS MADE 78
41 OURS SAID 75
42 OURS USING 75
43 OURS GOES 72
44 OURS SHALL 72
45 OURS COST 69
46 OURS GO 68
47 OURS USES 65
48 OURS SEEM 63
49 OURS ARRIVED 62
50 OURS WORK 62
51 OURS BROKE 59
52 OURS GAVE 55
53 OURS CALLED 54
54 OURS SET 54
55 OURS NEED 53
56 OURS TOLD 53
57 OURS DIED 52
58 OURS INCLUDES 51
59 OURS BASED 50 (*this is -ED clause following.)
60 OURS TAKES 47
61 OURS LIVES 45
62 OURS OFFERS 44
63 OURS RUNS 43
64 OURS WO 43
65 OURS MAKES 41
66 OURS BEGAN 40
67 OURS NAMED 40 (*this is -ED clause following.)
68 OURS WORKED 39
69 OURS TAKE 38
70 OURS SAYS 37
71 OURS ENDED 36
72 OURS NEEDED 36
73 OURS CA 34
74 OURS REQUIRES 34 (not subject in most examples)
75 OURS STARTS 34
76 OURS BOUGHT 33
77 OURS MAKE 33
78 OURS TEND 33
79 OURS USE 33
80 OURS GIVES 32
81 OURS LASTED 32
82 OURS MEASURED 32
83 OURS SIT 31
84 OURS START 31
85 OURS ASKED 30
86 OURS FOUND 30
87 OURS PUT 30
88 OURS SEEMED 30
89 OURS INCLUDE 29
90 OURS MEANS 29
91 OURS SENT 29
92 OURS HAPPENS 28
93 OURS BEGINS 26
94 OURS FEATURES 26
95 OURS CONTAINS 25
96 OURS HAPPENED 25
97 OURS INSTALLED 25
98 OURS LOVE 25
99 OURS OFFER 25
100 OURS STAY 24

*Although there are many examples of ‘ours’ in PELIC, none match the red ngrams.

ours (based|contains|installed|lasted|named|requires|seem|seemed|seems)

A search for preposition (not of_IO) in iWeb shows that ‘ours’ is often used to discuss relatedness:

* * * *_ii ours

1 , WHICH MAY DIFFER FROM OURS 65
2 ITS OWN TIME AND IN OURS 37
3 FOR A SMALL COMPANY LIKE OURS 34
4 IN A SOCIETY SUCH AS OURS 34
5 PRIVACY POLICIES MAY DIFFER FROM OURS 26
6 AT THE TABLE NEXT TO OURS 25
7 PRIVACY PRACTICES MAY DIFFER FROM OURS 23
8 YOUR FAMILY IS ANYTHING LIKE OURS 22
9 LINK FROM YOUR SITE TO OURS 21
10 PRIVACY POLICY MAY DIFFER FROM OURS 21
11 SOME ENTIRELY UNRELATED WEB-SITES TO OURS 21
12 TOTALLY UNRELATED INTERNET WEBSITES TO OURS 21
13 TOTALLY UNRELATED WEB SITES TO OURS 21
14 YOUR PROTECTION AS WELL AS OURS 21
15 IN A COUNTRY SUCH AS OURS 20
16 SOME ENTIRELY UNRELATED SITES TO OURS 20
17 ABSOLUTELY UNRELATED INTERNET WEBSITES TO OURS 19
18 COMPLETELY UNRELATED INTERNET WEBSITES TO OURS 19
19 IN A DEMOCRACY SUCH AS OURS 19
20 SOME COMPLETELY UNRELATED SITES TO OURS 19

…….

_nn of ours

1 FRIEND OF OURS 3460
2 FRIENDS OF OURS 1708
3 WORLD OF OURS 1002
4 COUNTRY OF OURS 897
5 FAVORITE OF OURS 868
6 CLIENT OF OURS 862
7 CUSTOMER OF OURS 674
8 FAVOURITE OF OURS 430
9 GOAL OF OURS 308
10 PARTNER OF OURS 290
11 DREAM OF OURS 260
12 LAND OF OURS 257
13 PLANET OF OURS 256
14 NATION OF OURS 208
15 CONCERN OF OURS 188
16 FAULT OF OURS 183
17 CITY OF OURS 173
18 PART OF OURS 164
19 SIZE OF OURS 159
20 PASSION OF OURS 140

PELIC students

B2/C1:

*Note, there are many errors surrounding or using ‘ours’, so here we include only the clearer examples:

694,dl7,Chinese,Male,117,5,w,48,1,557,”Choosing Mr. / Mrs. Right before Marriage

Thus, if we find our partner’s action is quite different from ours, it doesn’t mean he or she is really the wrong person.

*Note that the complexity checker predicts to be from an advanced student:

 

13983,ff2,Chinese,Female,288,5,w,1897,1,803

People who have a job like ours have a different life style.

 

27391,gb4,Chinese,Female,534,5,w,3597,1,1201, Men should share housework

Ours is the job of protecting, surviving and of course ruling aristocratically.

B2:

26482,ep4,Thai,Female,524,4,w,3437,3,416

Ours is not perfect democracy so it doesn’t always work.

 

39742,ef0,Arabic,Male,739,4,w,5110,1,277

Our parents spent their whole life sacrificing and dedicating their life to make ours just better.

B1:

 

24037,el8,Hebrew,Female,469,3,g,3111,1,99,

Friends of ours told me that the local council has opened two beautiful play ground[s].