Oops. I meant possessive marker, not plural marker.

On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 11:22 AM, Dick Veit <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> You were right. It is* brother-in-law's*. The apostrophe-s plural marker
> is appended to the end of the noun phrase, even if the noun is not the last
> word:
>
> the attorney-at-law's ethics
> the Queen of England's horses
> Ben and Jerry's new flavor
> my son the doctor's fancy-schmancy office
> the jerk who lives upstairs's obnoxious music
>
> Dick
>
>
>
> On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 10:56 AM, Ingerman, Prudence (INGERMAN) <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> I am delighted to join this group of grammar gurus.
>>
>>
>> I have a brother-in-law.  I have two brothers-in-law.    My elder
>> brother-in-law's son is also a doctor.
>>
>> My sister is an attorney-at-law.   Her three siblings are also
>> attorneys-at-law.  The attorney-at-law's office is on the 3rd floor.
>>
>> Is there a rule about this?   That's the question.  Why is it incorrect to
>> say - the attorney's-at -law office.  What is special about that tacked-on
>> prepositional phrase?
>>
>> Thanks for your thoughts.
>>
>> Prudence Ingerman - IEP Juniata College
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:
>> [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of R. Michael Medley (GLS)
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 10:45 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: how confidential is ATEG?
>>
>> I recently received a post on another listserv where a grammar question
>> was being discussed.  Since there is a wide range of language teaching
>> issues discussed on that listserv, I posted a message to other members
>> that if they really love grammar and would like to participate in some
>> excellent dicussion of grammar issues, they might subscribe to the ATEG
>> list.  One of them accepted this invitation, subscribed, and got a welcome
>> message with the following lines included:
>>
>> "IMPORTANT: This list is confidential. You should not publicly mention its
>> existence."
>>
>> Have I broken a rule in recommending the ATEG list to others?
>>
>> R. Michael Medley,Ph.D.
>> Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, VA 22802
>> [log in to unmask]  (540) 432-4051
>>
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>

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