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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

He is a friend of John's. VS. He is a friend of John.

He is a friend of John's. VS. He is a friend of John.

Which one is natural to you? I think that the first one is correct and natural to my ear. What do you native English speakers think? Thank you so much as usual and take good care.
  

Top answer

He is a friend of John's . com/dictionary/double%20possessive

— AlpheccaStars

  • He is a friend of John's .
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6 Answers
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He is a friend of John's.

This construction is called a "double possessive"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/double%20possessive
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He is a friend of John, though less common, is also natural and acceptable. Note that the double possessive should be avoided in formal writing.
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Aspara GusNote that the double possessive should be avoided in formal writing.
I beg to differ. This double possessive is fine, whether formal or informal.
In fact, it must be used with the pronouns, eg.:

Mr. Johnson was a friend of yours, wasn't he?
Mr. Johnson is a long-time friend of mine.
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AlpheccaStarsThis double possessive is fine, whether formal or informal.
We all have our own standards.
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Aspara GusNot if I have anything to say about it! Mr. Johnson was your friend, wasn’t he?
But that is not any of the forms we were discussing.
The question was "He is a friend of John" vs. "He is a friend of John's," not "He is John's friend."

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AlpheccaStarsThe question was "He is a friend of John" vs. "He is a friend of John's," …
Indeed it was. My answer was that both forms are acceptable but that the latter is not appropriate in formal writing. That is not to say that in this avoidance we are obligated to use the preposition of to show possession. Outside of formal writing, I would have no
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