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 >> >> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface >> at: >> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html >> and select "Join or leave the list" >> >> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ >> >> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface >> at: >> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html >> and select "Join or leave the list" >> >> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ >> > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/