Is there a good way to indicate that something belongs to you and another person when you want to mention the other person by name?
As an example, suppose some friends ask you "Where's the party at?" and the party is at the house that you and Bob share. Then
The party's at our house.
would work just fine. But what if some of the friends you wanted to invite didn't know that you lived with Bob, and you wanted to make sure they understand that Bob will be hosting the party with you?
In this situation, I've often found myself wanting to say something like
The party's at my and Bob's house.
This sounds clunky at best, but the obvious alternatives all seem slightly inappropriate to me. For example, you might propose saying
The party's at the house that belongs to Bob and me.
but I would say that seems a little stilted. Perhaps something like
You know where Bob and I live? That's where the party's at.
could work, but it certainly isn't very economical. The best option is probably something like
Bob and I will be hosting the party at our house.
but that sounds a little formal if someone just asks "Where's the party at?"
I know this situation sounds contrived, but I do run into it in various forms from time to time. I think part of the reason it sticks out to me is that there wouldn't be a problem if it was just your house or just Bob's house. You could easily say
The party's at Bob's house
or
The party's at my house
In fact, those are the responses I'd expect to "Where's the party at?" in everyday speech. But
The party's at my and Bob's house
sounds terrible.
What would you say in this situation?
Answer
"The party's at Bob's and my house."
Despite however "clunky" you think this sounds, this way is correct. There's nothing ungrammatical with this.
See the following references:
https://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/possessive-pronoun.html
(scroll down to "Compound Possessive Nouns and Pronouns")
https://ontariotraining.net/grammar-tip-possession-with-compound-nouns-and-pronouns/
https://erinwrightwriting.com/compound-possessive-pronoun-strings-or-who-owns-that-dog-anyway/
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