|
Mates
May 25, 2008 20:11:57 GMT
Post by Paul Doherty on May 25, 2008 20:11:57 GMT
Interesting question from the APS: Would it be correct to write:- It's one of my mates' stag night or it's one of my mates stag night? Opinions?
|
|
|
Mates
May 25, 2008 21:03:09 GMT
Post by Tone on May 25, 2008 21:03:09 GMT
I'm staying out of this one!
Tone
|
|
|
Mates
May 25, 2008 21:23:11 GMT
Post by Barry on May 25, 2008 21:23:11 GMT
I'd go with the former; I can't see how it could be considered an apostropheless adjectival phrase. What is likely to confuse people is surely the possibility of a singular apostrophe (it's only one mate who's having the stag night, so, if you don't follow the logic carefully, you might consider mate's).
|
|
|
Mates
May 25, 2008 21:24:00 GMT
Post by Pete on May 25, 2008 21:24:00 GMT
Interesting question from the APS: Would it be correct to write:- It's one of my mates' stag night or it's one of my mates stag night? Opinions? I think the first version looks correct, as it is the stag night 'belonging' to one of your mates. But it is also the sort of sentence I try and recast where possible, because it sounds clumsy to me. So I might go for "It's a mate's stag night". Both versions tell the same story and both also give the all-important flavour that you have more than one mate. ;D
|
|
|
Mates
May 26, 2008 17:58:24 GMT
Post by Paul Doherty on May 26, 2008 17:58:24 GMT
Yes, you could and should recast it ... but you could always say that. My interest is what if you choose not to recast it.
On the APS, Jeff suggested that as it's the stag night of "one of my mates", one simply needs the possessive of "one of my mates", which is singular, and thus has the possessive "one of my mates's". So it's one of my mates's stag night.
That seems wrong to me. I note that one of takes a plural: one of my houses, one of your children. We can't say one of my stag night. As it has to be one of my stag nights surely if also has to be one of my mates' stag nights?
|
|
|
Mates
May 26, 2008 20:09:11 GMT
Post by Pete on May 26, 2008 20:09:11 GMT
Looks like Barry and I agree with you, so that's nem con with one abstention.
|
|
|
Mates
May 26, 2008 20:52:05 GMT
Post by Tone on May 26, 2008 20:52:05 GMT
>with one abstention<See! Tone can be abstemious! (On rare occasion.) Tone
|
|
|
Mates
May 27, 2008 0:37:29 GMT
Post by Paul Doherty on May 27, 2008 0:37:29 GMT
Looks like Barry and I agree with you, so that's nem con with one abstention. Pete, I thought you and Big Barry agreed with one of my mates' stag night? I've made it plural: one of my mates' stag nights. Glyn and Jeff on the APS have come up with the following: - one of my friends's house - one of my boys's wife - one of my children's wedding - one of my children's weddings - one of the The House of Lords' decisions - one of The House of Lords's decisions Which are right, which are wrong? What's the rule? This is very hard! Maybe impossible ...
|
|
|
Mates
May 27, 2008 0:55:48 GMT
Post by Pete on May 27, 2008 0:55:48 GMT
It's the "maybe impossible" bit that makes me want to recast. I know the question is theoretical, but the fact that all of us are finding it so hard to get to an answer that both looks and sounds right tells me to just find a better way.
|
|
|
Mates
May 27, 2008 1:29:42 GMT
Post by Paul Doherty on May 27, 2008 1:29:42 GMT
No fun, Pete!
It's true that I'm going to a mate's stag night does the job perfectly, and no doubt we'd all write a decision of the House of Lords, but I'd like to know what people might say if the they had to use one of the above forms.
Jeff (on the APS ) says
I'm afraid it does sound bizarre to me!
|
|
osric
New Member
Posts: 23
|
Mates
May 27, 2008 5:47:00 GMT
Post by osric on May 27, 2008 5:47:00 GMT
They've both got to be plural, haven't they? if we unravel/reconstruct Jeff's phrase "one of my children's wedding" we get "one of the wedding of my children" which doesn't work; it would have to be "one of the weddings of my children" which would in turn taper down into "one of my children's weddings". ANd if we turn to "one of my mates' stag nights" we get "one of the stag nights of one of my mates". Hasn't the second word got to be automatically plural in these constructions?
"One of my sisters' cars" versus "one of my sister's cars"
Incidentally, in French the original sentence would be "un des enterrements de vie de garcon de mes copins"
|
|
|
Mates
May 27, 2008 6:12:45 GMT
Post by Bertie on May 27, 2008 6:12:45 GMT
They've both got to be plural, haven't they? if we unravel/reconstruct Jeff's phrase "one of my children's wedding" we get "one of the wedding of my children" which doesn't work; it would have to be "one of the weddings of my children" which would in turn taper down into "one of my children's weddings". ANd if we turn to "one of my mates' stag nights" we get "one of the stag nights of one of my mates". Hasn't the second word got to be automatically plural in these constructions? "One of my sisters' cars" versus "one of my sister's cars" Incidentally, in French the original sentence would be "un des enterrements de vie de garcon de mes copins" It would seem to me depend on whether you were talking about more than one sister (first example), or more than one car (second example). In the original quote we are presumably referring to only one stag party (although I accept that some hedonists take the opportunity for multi-bingeing) for one of several mates. One of my mates' stag party.
|
|
osric
New Member
Posts: 23
|
Mates
May 27, 2008 6:48:01 GMT
Post by osric on May 27, 2008 6:48:01 GMT
Bertie,
I was unclear; I was talking about Jeff's phrase. But...this is becoming more and more tangled; why am I ok with "one of my mates' stag night" but not "one of my children's wedding"?
|
|
osric
New Member
Posts: 23
|
Mates
May 27, 2008 6:49:34 GMT
Post by osric on May 27, 2008 6:49:34 GMT
I've cued up a joke for Tone here, haven't I?
|
|
|
Mates
May 27, 2008 8:26:44 GMT
Post by Pete on May 27, 2008 8:26:44 GMT
They've both got to be plural, haven't they? if we unravel/reconstruct Jeff's phrase "one of my children's wedding" we get "one of the wedding of my children" which doesn't work; it would have to be "one of the weddings of my children" which would in turn taper down into "one of my children's weddings". ANd if we turn to "one of my mates' stag nights" we get "one of the stag nights of one of my mates". Hasn't the second word got to be automatically plural in these constructions? My problem with this is that we don't know which is meant to be plural. Is it: - The wedding (singular) of one of my children? That is, I have more than one child and I am referring to the wedding of one of them.
- One of the weddings (plural) of my children (plural)? That is, I have more than one child and between them they have had more than one wedding and I am referring to the wedding of one of them.
- A combination of the 2, so that I have more than one child and at least on of them has been married more than once, too.
I know I'm no fun, Paul, but I also know when I'm beaten. Or, this is one syntax I ain't gonna pay! ;D
|
|