Question about the Possessive with Multiple Parties

Question

Suppose I want to refer to the widget owned by me and Susan.

Then do I say "you are welcome to use Susan's and my widget"? (Sounds awkward.)

Or "you are welcome to use the widget owned by Susan and I"? (Too long, clunky.)

How do I say this correctly? I would prefer not to rearrange the phrase altogether to avoid the problem. How do I correctly format the possessive with the multiple parties?

I read recently that the convention is to make only the last noun/pronoun possessive (I think it was in the NYT style guide). So it would be Susan and my widget. You will doubtless get another opinion. — anongoodnurse, Mar 05 '14 at 06:19
@Susan In certain cases, such as the one in question, this construction is perilous -- please read the whole sentence again and see for yourself. — Kris, Mar 05 '14 at 07:31
If Susan is correct, could I then say without peril "Please use Susan and my gadget for your personal pleasure" ?? — Blessed Geek, Mar 05 '14 at 07:35
"... Susan's and my widget" I have been using this structure for ages, and I've never felt awkward about it. — Blessed Geek, Mar 05 '14 at 07:41
@Kris - ah. Thank you. It is like the Oxford comma then, and subject to unintended (disastrous but funny) meaning. I stand corrected. — anongoodnurse, Mar 05 '14 at 10:18

Kris · Answer 1 · 2014-03-06T04:09:58.173

2

Just technically thinking, the possible option to avoid pitfalls could be:

You are welcome to use me-and-Susan's widget

Okay, protocol gone, fpp before others, but it works.
Hyphenate to disambiguate: the widget is joint property.
Now that there's just a compound noun, just one possessive should do.

There can be other, better ways to do it.

edited Mar 06 '14 at 04:09

answered Mar 05 '14 at 07:37

Kris

37,386

2

klugy, kludgy, ke-loo-gie – Blessed Geek Mar 05 '14 at 07:42
+1 - I upvoted your answer as perfectly reasonable. Blessed Geek's comment is, however, hilarious. – anongoodnurse Mar 05 '14 at 10:20
Me's widget is acceptable? – Oldcat Mar 05 '14 at 22:32
@Oldcat I'm not sure about 'acceptability', but that just doesn't exist: mine, not me's, (even in "x and me"?). – Kris Mar 06 '14 at 04:13
@Susan klugy, yes, I said as much: "but it works". Now, what's the joke, please? – Kris Mar 06 '14 at 04:14

Question about the Possessive with Multiple Parties

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