Dear all,
 
I am writing to ask your advice with an example relating to joint possession in a compound determiner phrase involving a possessive pronoun. In my grammar class, a student brought in the following example from Facebook as an example of incorrect usage: "Abigal is out to dinner for mine and Alex's two year (anniversary)!" 
 
We discussed that mine is incorrect, but I wasn't 100% positive that the offered solution itself was correct. Here it is: "Abigail is out to dinner for Alex's and my two year (anniversary)!" The anniversary seems to be an instance of joint possession, in which case possession is typically noted on the second noun in a compound determiner, as in my aunt and uncle's house, to use the example in Hacker's Rules for Writers. Is saying "for Alex's and my two-year anniversary" correct, or does this phrasing imply non-joint possession? The alternative, "for Alex and my two-year anniversary," just sounds wrong. Would it be stylistically more satisfactory to say instead "for my and Alex's two-year anniversary"? 
 
I'll also be grateful for any sources that speak to this issue.
 
All best,
Natalie Gerber

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