barber

[liang]

hi : )

why we should say barber's or barber shop but not barber's shop?

[danmahaffey]

We use these possessives idiomatically. We say grocer's, lawyer's, tailor's all the time. I went to the cleaner's and picked up my laundry, then headed to the baker's for the bread for dinner tonight.

Many people even use the name of the company or proprietor this way. I'm going to Frank's to get the parts for my car, then I'll stop at Acme's for the house paint.

But when we say barber shop, we are using barber as an adjective. Truly it is the barber's shop, but we don't think of it in terms of the shop but in terms of the trade or business (or person).