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Thread: Kitty Maitland, a friend of Laura('s) and a party guest

  1. 04-Nov-2012, 10:24 #1
    nelson13
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    Default Kitty Maitland, a friend of Laura('s) and a party guest

    Kitty Maitland, a friend of Laura('s) and a party guest, is....

    Is the possessive case necessary in the above sentence?

    If LAURA is replaced by HER, then we must say a friend of hers.

    May I have your opinion?
    Odessa Dawn likes this.
    I am studying at university in Hong Kong and major in English.
  2. 04-Nov-2012, 14:10 #2
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    bhaisahab
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    Default Re: Kitty Maitland, a friend of Laura('s) and a party guest

    Quote Originally Posted by nelson13 View Post
    Kitty Maitland, a friend of Laura('s) and a party guest, is....

    Is the possessive case necessary in the above sentence?

    If LAURA is replaced by HER, then we must say a friend of hers.

    May I have your opinion?
    Yes, it's necessary.
    emsr2d2, Odessa Dawn, probus and 1 others like this.
  3. 05-Nov-2012, 06:07 #3
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    probus
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    Default Re: Kitty Maitland, a friend of Laura('s) and a party guest

    Yes but we should explain to our students that this is idiom, an exception to grammar. A friend of me or or a friend of Laura may well appear to them to to be correct, rather than a friend of mine or a friend of Laura's.
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  4. 11-Nov-2012, 03:30 #4
    nelson13
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    Default Re: Kitty Maitland, a friend of Laura('s) and a party guest

    Quote Originally Posted by probus View Post
    Yes but we should explain to our students that this is idiom, an exception to grammar. A friend of me or or a friend of Laura may well appear to them to to be correct, rather than a friend of mine or a friend of Laura's.
    How about this one on(or in?) wiki?(somehow I don't like a capital letter W):

    As a young man in Corinth, Oedipus hears a rumour that he is not the biological son of Polybus and his wife Merope.
    I am studying at university in Hong Kong and major in English.
  5. 11-Nov-2012, 07:05 #5
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    Default Re: Kitty Maitland, a friend of Laura('s) and a party guest

    Quote Originally Posted by nelson13 View Post
    As a young man in Corinth, Oedipus hears a rumour that he is not the biological son of Polybus and his wife Merope.
    That's fine.
    nelson13 likes this.
    Context is important. Please provide enough for us to be able to deal effectively with your question.
    Your thread title should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.
    If you just want to know the meaning of a word, try OneLook Dictionary Search first.

  6. 11-Nov-2012, 10:11 #6
    nelson13
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    Default Re: Kitty Maitland, a friend of Laura('s) and a party guest

    Quote Originally Posted by 5jj View Post
    That's fine.
    Does it mean if the phrase is a Y of Z, we should add 's to make it a Y of Z's; but for the Y of Z, we shouldn't?
    I am studying at university in Hong Kong and major in English.
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