Compound Possessives
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Compound Possessives
To determine how to punctuate a compound possessive, first determine ownership.
If two people own something jointly:
Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream
If two people both own separate things:
Ben's and Jerry's houses (We're assuming that they each have a house that they do not own jointly.)
Comments
3/26/2007 11:19:19 AMPHILENE GOTSIS said:
GREAT- ANSWERED MOST OF MY ?. BUT WHAT IF BOTH NOUNS ARE PRONOUNS LIKE "HER AND MY BIKE," FOR EXAMPLE? THX, P. GOTSIS
3/27/2007 12:45:00 PM
Yvonne said:
Do you agree that Gayle and Oprah's Road Trip is correct since they shared the trip.(one trip)
The "Grammar Lady" on the Oprah show said that it should be a compound possessive since they both took the trip. I disagree since they are not talking about trips taken separately. A listener had called in to say that the show was advertising it incorrectly with the compound possessive, and the "Grammar Lady" said it was correct.
2/8/2009 12:19:23 PM
Nico in California said:
There's not much you can say about 'compound posessives', but there is about language in general. If you could come back, in let's say about four hundred years, you would have a difficult time recognizing the English language.
4/10/2009 11:55:15 PM
Abby said:
What about if you're saying it in 1st person? (Ben and mine's? Mine and Ben's?)
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