About this text:
Turning the idea of happiness on its head had suddenly made me very happy.
What does “its” refer to? Does it mean “happiness’s”?
The context is:
Come On, Get Happy
“Happiness is a fatality,” wrote the poet Rimbaud. I remember being somewhat puzzled when I first read that line, and then feeling a sense of ease and liberation wash over me. Turning the idea of happiness on its head had suddenly made me very happy.
I would guess that happiness has ruined many a life since it was invented, which may not have been so long ago.
Excerpt from Crazy Wisdom Saves the World Again! by Wes “Scoop” Nisker.
Answer
We can analyze the first part of the sentence like this:
Turning the idea (of happiness) (on its head)…
“of happiness” is an adjective prepositional phrase that describes idea (which idea?). “on its head” is an adverb prepositional phrase that describes turning (how are we turning?), and the “its” refers to “idea”. You could remove the phrase “of happiness”, and the sentence would still make sense:
Turning the idea on its head…
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Lincoln , Answer Author : chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic-
