Compound Constructions :


This is different from the problem we confront when creating possessives with compound constructions such as daughter-in-law and friend of mine.

Generally, the apostrophe -s is simply added to the end of the compound structure :

my daughter-in-law's car

a friend of mine's car.

If this sounds clumsy, use the of construction to avoid the apostrophe :

the car of a friend of mine

This is especially useful in pluralized compound structures: the daughters-in-law's car sounds quite strange, but it's correct.

We're better off with the car of the daughters-in-law.


Related Links :

Possessives with Gerunds

Possessives versus Adjectival Labels

Possessives of Plurals

Irregular Plurals

Holidays Showing Possession

Compound Possessives

Possessives Constructions

Compound Constructions

Possessives with Appositive Forms

Double Possessives