4

The first one sounds wrong to me but I'm not sure.

Which one is correct?

My mother's cars

or

My mother cars

Nathan Tuggy
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PrisonPants
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1 Answers1

4

The first one means "the cars that belong to my mother". The "s" on cars makes it plural, and does not affect possession in any way.

The second use of "cars" reads like a verb, but since "car" isn't used as a verb in English, it's wrong.

If you want to refer to the car that belongs to your mother, you can use

My mother's car

If you want to refer to things that belong to the car that belongs to your mother, you would use a construction like

My mother's car's headlights are broken.

If you wanted to refer to things that belong to all of several cars that belong to your mother, you could use something like

My mother's cars' tires need to be replaced.

Dan
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  • My mother's cars are too old What about this one? – PrisonPants Feb 17 '16 at 21:46
  • @PrisonPants: That would mean that all of the cars that belong to your mother are too old. It would also imply your mother has at least two cars. – Dan Feb 17 '16 at 21:47
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    Actually, "my mother cars" is referring to some cars that are like a mother to you. –  Feb 17 '16 at 21:57
  • @Hot Licks: That would work too, I suppose. – Dan Feb 17 '16 at 22:02
  • On the planet Cars, individuals may have two parents of the same gender, and either or both may be technically the "mother", depending on where parts were scavenged. Lightning's mother cars are Chick and Sally. –  Feb 17 '16 at 22:08
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    You guys are getting ridiculous here. The question clearly indicates that the poster has a limited grasp of English syntax, and you're talking about cars parenting other cars on a fictional planet. –  Feb 18 '16 at 01:32
  • @StevenLittman But a ton of ELL questions are about peculiar uses of specific constructions in specific works... – Nihilist_Frost Feb 19 '16 at 03:19