Hello everyone,
My friend and I had a discussion about grammar, and we disagree on which form is correct. I guess it could depend on how you group the phrase.
In the first case, you could be thinking of all the wives who belong to your friends, and choose one of them.
"One of [my friends' wives = their wives] is sick."
(One of the wives of my friends is sick.)
In the second case, if you think of all your friends, then pick one of them, he (or she!) would have (most likely) one wife.
"[One of my friends' = his] wife is sick."
(The wife of one of my friends is sick.)
Although I appreciate everyone's willingness to help, please don't reply citing one or the other as correct just because it "sounds right". I am looking for solid, grammatical rules to support one or the other.
I'm not much of a grammar stickler, but it just bothered me that my friend and I weren't able to come to a concensus. Hopefully, you guys will be able to help us out!
Thanks in advance for all your help!
-T
2007-04-08 15:08:57 · 5 answers · asked by ThaiBinh! 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
The correst answer is "One of my friends' wife is sick.. because the wife is only singular because of the"ONE"
2007-04-08 15:15:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
One (of my friends' wives) is sick.
One (of a group) is sick.
The group is my friends' wives.
You can also say--The wife of one of my friends is sick.
I have a doctorate and I was an English major in college. My answer is correct. The others I read below are nonsense. E-mail me if you like.
2007-04-08 15:14:00 · answer #2 · answered by fatboycool 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
first case is incorrect. friends' is a plural possessive. more than one friend (let's say you have four friends in this scenario). wives is a plural noun, more than one wife. but one is a singular pronoun, ONE of my friends' wife. so one of my friends' wives means one of your four friends have more than one wife!!! (polygamous)
the correct way to say your sentence is as follows: "one of my friends' wife is sick."
2007-04-08 15:20:59 · answer #3 · answered by wat_more_can_i_say? 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The 1st one is right if your friend is a polygamist.
The 2nd one is right if he only has one wife .
2007-04-08 15:19:50 · answer #4 · answered by kate 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Who's wife is sick? - Somebody's[=who's?] wife is sick.
somebody = "one of my friends"
(One od my friends')[=who's?] wife is sick.
One of my friends' wife is sick.
2007-04-08 16:18:12 · answer #5 · answered by Greene 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋