Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Enumeration and the possessive
Dear Teachers,
I realized I am not sure which structure is correct, do we say
the life of Roosevelt, Kennedy, Lincoln and Washington was full of interesting turns.
or
Roosevelt’s, Kennedy’s, Lincoln’s and Washington’s lives were full of interesting turns.
Could you, please, let me know? Thank you.
I realized I am not sure which structure is correct, do we say
the life of Roosevelt, Kennedy, Lincoln and Washington was full of interesting turns.
or
Roosevelt’s, Kennedy’s, Lincoln’s and Washington’s lives were full of interesting turns.
Could you, please, let me know? Thank you.
Top answer
They each had a different life, so "lives" is correct. However, I prefer the style of the first version, so I would go for: T he lives of Roosevelt, Kennedy, Lincoln and Washington were full of interesting turns. If it is supposed to be a sentence then it should start with a capital letter.
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They each had a different life, so "lives" is correct. However, I prefer the style of the first version, so I would go for:
The lives of Roosevelt, Kennedy, Lincoln and Washington were full of interesting turns.
If it is supposed to be a sentence then it should start with a capital letter.
The lives of Roosevelt, Kennedy, Lincoln and Washington were full of interesting turns.
If it is supposed to be a sentence then it should start with a capital letter.
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