As I understand it, if X and Y independently have the same friend Z, we should write
Z is a friend of X's and Y's
but if X and Y collectively have Z as a friend (e.g., X and Y are a couple), then we should indicate that by making the possessive "'s" refer to "X and Y" collectively:
Z is a friend of X and Y's
But if Y is me, how do I write the latter? I think the answer is
Z is a friend of X and mine
but it sounds awkward to me (maybe because the possessive in "mine" sounds like it only refers to me, not to X and me). It sounds better to my ear to write
Z is a friend of X's and mine
but this loses the subtlety that X and I collectively have Z as a friend.
No comments:
Post a Comment