whose dog, further English grammar.

Question

Rheit just put up an excellent question about John and Ted's dog. It has been well answered by Margherite.

But, as a foreigner, it made me think:

Please tell me;

Wolfie belongs to me and my husband, he is our dog. He is mine and my husband's?? Is this correct? Or, he is my dog, and my husband's?

Obviously, in real life, I do all the work and Wolfie adores my husband, but that is life and not grammar.

I have a dog and she spends all her time watching my every move. She doesn't care what the other four family members are doing. There's no accounting for taste! - rheit, Oct 18, 2012

My husband has a dog that only wants you to rub his butt, right above the tail at least. He can have his dog! - rheit, Oct 18, 2012

Dogs! I think Wolfie hears a male voice better. Just. At times.. - annierats, Oct 18, 2012

Wolfie looks very intelligent. I'm sure he understands everything you say. - 0095ca4c, Oct 19, 2012

Yes, he's very bright .. - annierats, Oct 19, 2012

Answer 1

I think it has to be "my husband's and my dog". We've always been taught to put the other person first before the I, or me, or my. It does get a little tricky, doesn't it. I tried to take a grammar course in college, and was surprised to find they didn't offer one. Hmmph!

Didn't offer one? Wow! - rac1, Oct 18, 2012

They offered "History of Grammar" for their English majors. Not the same. - rheit, Oct 18, 2012

Thank you, good answer. The more I thought, the less sure I felt. - annierats, Oct 18, 2012

rac, they never have courses like that nowadays: You do mediastudies, or hairdressing.. - annierats, Oct 18, 2012

Rheit I did ' History of languages' because Latin was no longer on offer.. - annierats, Oct 18, 2012

I would love to take Latin! I understand that it's a "dead language", but it's so very alive in so many other languages! - rheit, Oct 18, 2012

Yes, it is, to be sure. There are many that have their roots in Latin. - rac1, Oct 19, 2012

I think you are correct with "my husband's and my dog". What do you think about "Wolfie is my husband's and mine"? - 0095ca4c, Oct 19, 2012

Answer 2

Hola annie! Well, you have certainly posted food for thought. I think I would play it safe and say "Wolfie belongs to my husband and me."

However, I went to Grammarly and typed in: "Wolfie is mine and my husband's." I thought they would tell me it was incorrect.This is the answer they gave me:

Grammarly found no writing issues in your text. Score: 100 of 100 (good)

Of course I have to qualify this by saying I'm not a paid member of Grammarly, the answer I got was a freebie, so I don't know if that would make a difference in the validity of their score.

I hope this helps, and I'm so glad this was an English grammar question...it would have taken me hours to try and write that in Spanish! (~¿~)

Very good answers, from both of you!! - rac1, Oct 19, 2012

Hola amiga! - 0095ca4c, Oct 19, 2012

Thank you Margherite, very interesting answers, both of you. - annierats, Oct 19, 2012

Maybe we will ask for a Spanish version, now I've started to think aboutit, I have doubts about that one too! - annierats, Oct 19, 2012