Share and Share Alike
Would you say “This is Joe’s and Sally’s car” or “This is Joe and Sally’s car”? This type of question can come up a lot in writing. The rule is that you only need the apostrophe + s after the second name if the two people share the item noted.
- John and Mary’s marriage is on the rocks.
- Bill and Nina’s escrow closed last week.
- Mike and John’s team won the division.
So, conversely, if two people do not share the item or issue in question, you would need them each to have the apostrophe + s.
- Both Frank’s and Sara’s job contracts will get renewed
- Bob’s and Ted’s adventures went well [no, this isn’t about their joint excellent adventure].
The same idea applies to words that are plural:
- The doctors’ and the lawyers’ conventions went well [two different conventions].
- The actors and actresses’ show went well [they were in the same show].
Don’t get me started, though, about how I feel when I hear “Hey, mine and you guys’s car is the same!”
I get the impression that if you and I had been in high school together, you would have been the girl that the English teacher called on to help grade other students’ essays. Not only because you were a great writer, but because you knew how to help your classmates feel like they had potential that just needed to be shaped and molded. I also imagine that you would have done so with humor, making a class of stressed-out kids understand that writing didn’t need to be drudgery, but could be rather fun.
I am one of those students grown up, and now you are making me feel that I can take my passion for writing and, with a bit more effort, do what I’ve always dreamed of doing. Thanks for all of your efforts on behalf of folks like me. Thanks especially for your posts about punctuation and grammar because I adore rules. Actually leads me to believe that I would make a better editor/proofreader than writer. Perhaps that’s an idea for a future post–“would you make a better editor than writer?” Just a thought! Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the kind words!
thanks for that c.s.- now i know it should be a friend of tom and jake’s. timely.
I just have to say how much I enjoy the emails I get from you. Also, I appreciate your blog because I can return and read the articles again. I have many punctuation and grammar issues that come up despite having been a professional writer (news, features, marketing and advertising)since 1968. Because I work for a college now (Publications & Communications Manager) I am even more concerned about making the correct choice. Today’s heading really caught my attention because it reminded me of an incident I’d like to share. About 30 years ago I wrote a market book for The Seattle Times and did not notice until thousands of copies had been printed that the foreward said forward. Naturally it was the heading in large, bold type. It was actually a typo because I knew the difference, but when a word with a typo still spells a familiar word it is easy to not pick up on the error. Three sets of eyes proofread that book and did not notice. Thank you again for your excellent articles.
Thanks so much! I’m compiling the posts from the Say What? section into a handy reference book. Should be available for sale in February!