grammaticality - "My parents' friendship with..." vs. "my parent's friendship with..." vs. "my parents friendship with..."


Which of these is correct please, if any?




  • my parents' friendship with Sally's parents

  • my parent's friendship with Sally's parents

  • my parents friendship with Sally's parents



What is the correct use of possessive apostrophe in this case?



Answer



"My parents' friendship with Sally's parents" is correct.


When you're confused about apostrophe usage, try substituting the word "of" into the sentence to see if it makes sense.


"The friendship of my parents with the parents of Sally" is grammatically clear (if stilted and certainly not recommended, in speech or in writing).


Semantically,


the friendship of my parents = my parents' friendship


and


the parents of Sally = Sally's parents


Thus, in the actual sentence, you would need an apostrophe after both "my parents" and "Sally".


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