A few seconds pause

[temple09]

Hi,

I was wondering how best to punctuate the sentence - "after a few seconds pause I decided to ..."

Should it be seconds' second's or seconds?

 

[Loob]

Hello temple

For me the answer is clear:

After a pause of a few seconds
>
After a few seconds' pause.

 

[temple09]

When you put it that way, then it is obvious. However, couldn't one equally say -
"after a few seconds of pause" - After a few seconds pause

 

[grubble]

When you put it that way, then it is obvious. However, couldn't one equally say -
"after a few seconds of pause" - After a few seconds pause

Loob did say it that way, you didn't read the final line of her post

She said "After a few seconds' pause."

 

[temple09]

Loob did say it that way, you didn't read the final line of her post

She said "After a few seconds' pause."

No, there is a difference in the two sentences -
A few seconds of pause - the genative relates to pause (of pause)
A pause of a few seconds - the genative relates to seconds (of a few seconds)

 

[e2efour]

I've heard "a few seconds of silence" but never anything like "a few seconds of pause".

 

[temple09]

I've heard "a few seconds of silence" but never anything like "a few seconds of pause".

No, I haven't either, but since one can have a few seconds (of) silence (where the genative focuses on "silence") then I wondered whether "a few seconds(') pause" comes from this route.
Hence the question.

 

[Loob]

Hi again, temple

You could always argue by analogy with the singular version, where we definitely do have a genitive: a second's pause .

 

[Thomas Veil]

I think that there should be a comma after "pause" as well.

 

[temple09]

Hi again, temple

You could always argue by analogy with the singular version, where we definitely do have a genitive: a second's pause .

Ah. Yes. Good point. Thanks you Loob