Using possessives with appositives

Question

What is the correct way to use an appositive with a possessive?  For example:  My neighbor, Jim's car exploded last night.  Is this correct?  What about commas?  Thanks!

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

For some reason two consecutive genitives formed with apostrophes are often avoided in English. My suggestion: The car of my neighbor Jim exploded last night.

CB

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousWhat is the correct way to use an appositive with a possessive? For example: My neighbor, Jim's car exploded last night. Is this correct? What about commas? Thanks!

No comma. My neighbor Jim's car ...

These are usually restricted to certain family relationships, as in the following examples.

my brother Jerry's coat
your sister Carrie's career
his cousin Sally's house

Not as likely to be used, if at all:

My boss Mr. Johnston's office

CJ

Khoff · Answer

Cool breeze, I'm confused by your reply, because I don't see "two consecutive genitives formed with apostrophes" in the phrase "my neighbor Jim's car exploded."

I would think the the rule you describe would apply to a sentence like "My neighbor Jim's son's car exploded." And if you would suggest changing it to "the car of my neighbor Jim's son exploded," or perhaps "the car of the son of my neighbor Jim exploded," I would say those are also pretty awkward. (I particularly don't like them because if you scan the written sentences quickly, you might think that "Jim exploded" or "Jim's son exploded." ) I think the most natural thing to do would be to divide it into two sentences:

"You know my neighbor Jim? His son's car exploded."

Another possiblitiy is to use the original sentence, with a long pause after each possessive and emphasis on the second one:

"My neighbor Jim's.....son's.....car exploded."

Cool Breeze · Answer

khoffCool breeze, I'm confused by your reply, because I don't see "two consecutive genitives formed with apostrophes" in the phrase "my neighbor Jim's car exploded."

Hi khoff

You have every right to be confused. I didn't think of the matter enough from the English language point of view. I had my mother tongue in mind - and I suppose I also assumed that the poster's native language was similar to Finnish. A verbatim translation from Finnish would give us: My neighbor's Jim's car exploded.

CB

Using possessives with appositives

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