Sunday, May 13, 2018

possessives - A friend of Jane and Tom or A friend of Jane and Tom's?



We can say:




She's a friend of mine.



She's a friend of Tom's.



She's a friend of my parents'.



But today I saw this: She's a friend of Jane and Tom.



Is it correct? Or should it be: She's a friend of Jane and Tom's?



Answer



The grammatical form of the sentence you indicate is certainly




She is a friend of Jane and Tom's.




meaning that they both know her and are her friends. However, particularly when speaking, the final "s" happens to be overlooked.



With reference to Jay's answer, the option She's a friend of Jane's and Tom's indicates that they are both friends to this girl/woman, but they do not necessarily know each other.



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